MAIN LIBRARY

B F886b B

674741

NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE LIBRARY

FORM 3427

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT

"About five feet nine inches in height, slight and sinewy in his
structure, but gracefully proportioned and eminently prepossess¬
ing in his personal appearance. His eyes are blue and very large, his
nose aquiline, his forehead, over which his brown, curling hair is
parted at the center, is high and capacious. He never shaves, but
wears his beard neatly trimmed.” — John Bigelow.

A MAN UNAFRAID

The Story of
John Charles Fremont

Herbert Basbford and Harr Wagner

HARR WAGNER PUBLISHING COMPANY
SAN FRANCISCO . CALIFORNIA

Copyright, 1927

BY

Harr Wagner Publishing Company

Ai3

ir S

674741

PRINTED IN CALIFORNIA, U. S. A.
BY WILLIAMS PRINTING COMPANY

SAN FRANCISCO

Publisher’s Foreword

The story of Fremont is told in these pages. The inter¬
pretation of his heroic life and actions are based on orig¬
inal source material. The prejudices of the first settlers
have disappeared. The historians who had personal con¬
tact with men and measures of Fremont’s time have
passed on. The epoch-making journeys of Fremont and
his men; the explorations of the Western lands; the ac¬
quisition of desirable territory, and the foundation of the
new states, deserve at this time a new interpretation
and John Charles Fremont a new and unprejudiced
biographer.

The American Youth also needs the spirit of adven¬
ture which is illustrated in the life of Fremont. Non¬
fiction adventure should have a place in our schools and
libraries. The adventures of “A Man Unafraid” are more
fascinating, more inspiring, more illustrative of the
superman, than the heroes of fiction. Fremont’s life is
one of the richest heritages of the West.

While the title page carries the name of Flerbert Bash-
ford and Harr Wagner as joint authors of the book, the
actual work and literary style is due entirely to Herbert
Bashford. Harr Wagner, as a student of California his¬
tory, arrived at the conviction from source material
which he possessed that Fremont deserved a new and
sympathetic biographer. This volume is the result.

T

»

s.

1 i * . t « • '

■ ‘ .’'1^

THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED TO
THE MEMORY OF THE HEROIC
MEN WHO FOLLOWED FREMONT
THROUGH THE SNOW-CLAD
RANGES OF THE WEST AND WHO
SUFFERED INDESCRIBABLE
HARDSHIPS AND PRIVATIONS

To Fremont

Knowing but half, we are so quick to scorn
The deeds of others who have gone before;

Keeping unsaid, unsung, their goodly store
Of history which long years have dimmed and worn.

Of such a one I sing. Alone, forlorn.

He braved unventured soil for a rich land
Of plenty, held in his undaunted hand
The fate of men and cities yet unborn.

But mark you this — he held the magic lyre
Of Beauty ever singing in his heart.

Rare Beauty clothed in light and set apart,
Enshrined and worshiped Hke a temple fire.

Much good there is in him who loves soft rain.

Who welcomes like a child the shy sweet spring.
Or, silenced, stands to hear a late bird sing
A carol, high above some wind-swept plain.

His be the praise, for his was all the gain
Of seeking California, unafraid;

Forget all but the sacrifice he made.

Nor let the golden poppy bear a stain.

— Nancy Ellen White.

Contents

PAGE

A Son of the Old South . i

First Expedition to the Rocky Mountains . 21

Across the South Pass . 4^

Fremont Becomes ”The Pathfinder’* . 75

Across the Sierra Nevada . iii

The Third Expedition . 152

The Tragedy at Klamath Lake . 1S3

The Conquest of California . 20 j

Commodore Stockton Takes Supreme Command . 229

The Court-Martial and the Absurd Verdict . 259

The Fourth Expedition and Its Disastrous Termination . 295

Fremont Undertakes a Fifth Expedition . 325

Hunger and Hardships . 3^5

First Presidential Candidate of Republican Party . 359

Territorial Governor of Arizona and Last Days . ^84

A Condensed Biography . 39^

Index . 4°^

Illustrations

John Charles Fremont (color) . Frontispiece

FACING

PAGE

r he Pathless Sierras ( color ) . i

Jessie Benton Fremont . i6

Fort Hall, on the Oregon Trail . 32

Residence of Kit Carson . 32

Kit Carson, Famous Scout . 48

Sutter’s Fort, Sacramento City . 64

Monterey in 1846 . 80

California’s First Capitol Building . 80

Commodore Robert Field Stockton . 96

Monterey in 1927 . 112

Wild Flowers of California (color) . 128

The Old Custom-House at Monterey . 144

San Jose in the Early Days . 144

John Drake Sloat . ^60

Commodore John B. Montgomery . 176

The Monterey Cypress . 192

Ruins of Governor Castro’s First House at Monterey . 208

Pendola Building, Bear Valley . 240

Oso House, Bear Valley . 240

The Golden Gate . 3 52

Monument to General Fremont . 399

Fremont crossed the pathless Sierras in midwinter. This picture shows the rugged and wild beauty of the mountains

he knew and loved.

qA Man Unafraid

CHAPTER I

A Son of the Old South

Mark Twain once said that, if you would be called
a horsethief, just become a candidate for public
oflSce. The truth of this is well exemplified in the
eventful career of John Charles Fremont. No nom¬
inee for President of the United States ever before
or since was so abused and vilified as he. His nomi¬
nation occurred at a critical time in American his¬
tory and presaged the storm that was to follow. As
the first candidate of the new Republican party, it
was Fremont who bore the brunt of battle in the
memorable campaign of ’5 6. Around him centered
the whirlwind of malice and slander, and many of
the falsehoods current at that time in regard to
**The Pathfinder” persist even to this day and have
colored the pages of several alleged historians and
biographers.

As an avowed opponent of slavery he brought
down upon his head all the vituperation possible
from the slave-holding states, and even more than
Lincoln he inspired an intense hatred among South¬
erners in general. Although born in the South, his
father-in-law a prominent Democrat, he was a con¬
sistent abolitionist — a pioneer in the cause of hu¬
man liberty, just as he was a pioneer in the upbuild¬
ing of the West.

(I)

1

A MAN UNAFRAID

Those who entertain any prejudice against Fre¬
mont because of the mud-slinging campaign in
which he was the storm-center, should take into
consideration the fierce sectional feeling that existed
at the time and allow his career to speak for itself
— a career that is unparalleled in the history of the
country.

Had he been elected in 1 8 5 6 it is probable that
the Civil War would have occurred some four years
earlier than it did, and today Fremont would be the
great national idol. As it was, he paved the way for
Lincoln by giving to the new party a strength and
an enduring quality that, perhaps, would have been
impossible with any other nominee at that particu¬
lar time. In this respect he was not only of great
service to his party, but to the Union as well.

Fremont’s was a full life. He lived every hour of
the day. In the brief space of one year he had more
varied experiences than fall to the lot of the aver¬
age man in a lifetime. His activity was phenomenal.
He had his faults — but the faultless man has no
place in this world. Such faults as he had were of
the heart and not of the head. At times he erred in
judgment. With all his financial opportunities, he
died a poor man. He was impulsive and highly sen¬
sitive, quick to take offense, and equally quick to
forgive.

The perseverance of Fremont knew no bounds
and his courage was sublime. Once he set himself
to attain a certain goal, there was no turning back.
He shrank from no undertaking, no matter how
dangerous it might be or how many hardships it
might entail.

A SON OF THE OLD SOUTH

3

His integrity was unquestioned, and those who
knew him best loved him most. As a proof of his
fine character, we may point to the strong and abid¬
ing friendship of those who shared his perils — men
like Carson, Godey, and Fitzpatrick. Had the
swivel-chair officials from West Point who assumed
to mete out punishment to him in later years expe¬
rienced one-tenth of the vicissitudes and sacrifices
of Fremont, they might have accounted themselves
among the glorious heroes of the age. But it must be
remembered he did not hail from West Point, and
therein lies the source of so much jealousy and
prejudice.

Despite the success of his undertakings, he was
singularly modest and unassuming. In his "Mem¬
oirs” there is not the slightest trace of egotism or
conceit. He more often tells of the deeds and ex¬
ploits of others and makes light of his own priva¬
tions and suffering.

Those riding at ease today in the luxuriously
appointed Pullmans, amid the canyons of the Sierra
Nevada, seldom give a passing thought to that
band of starving, emaciated men who followed Fre¬
mont day after day up those rugged mountain walls
in the blinding snows of mid-winter. His was a life
to fire the imagination of youth — daring, fearless,
and determined, and to him more than to any single
individual we owe the acquisition of California.

Fremont’s love for the out-of-doors, of adven¬
ture and exploration, was no doubt due to inher¬
ited tendencies. Prenatal influence undoubtedly
had much to d j in determining his future. He was
destined to become a great man. He had the right

4

A MAN UNAFRAID

father and the right mother; from each he received
those special qualities which made him what he was.

His father, after whom he was named, was a
Frenchman born near Lyons. He was of a nomadic
nature, with artistic and scientific impulses, and
possessed an excellent character. The roving spirit
was strong in him, and at a comparatively early
age he left his home port and sailed for St. Domi¬
nique to join his aunt. It was an adventurous un¬
dertaking, for France and England were at war and
the seas were unsafe, for a Frenchman in particular.
The ship on which he sailed was seized by a British
man-of-war and taken to an island of the West
Indies. Here Mr. Fremont busied himself as a
basket-maker and, also, as an interior decorator.
Finally he was either liberated or escaped, possibly
the latter, and managed to make his way to Nor¬
folk, Virginia, in the hope of returning to his native
land. For some time he tutored in French, and as
he was educated in English he became a prime social
favorite among the townspeople.

In the course of time he met a young lady whose
maiden name was Ann Beverley, but who had un¬
fortunately married a wealthy, but irascible old
gentleman. Major Pryor. He was forty-five years
older than his wife, who had consented to marry
him when she was only seventeen. Her relatives
insisted on the marriage for financial reasons. Of
course the December and May affair resulted in
unhappiness, as might be expected. They managed
to live together for twelve years, which was an age
to the beautiful young wife. Then, through the in¬
fluence of friends, the Virginia Legislature granted

A SON OF THE OLD SOUTH

5

her a divorce, and at the age of twenty-nine she was
free to marry again, which she did, her choice of a
husband being the French tutor, John Charles Fre¬
mont. Her relatives, who were connected with the
family of George Washington, were much opposed
to the marriage, but this time Ann followed the
dictates of her own heart. Major Pryor was after¬
ward wedded to his housekeeper. He was then in
his seventy-sixth year, and how this marriage ter¬
minated is not recorded, but it is safe to say that it
did not last long. Mrs. Fremont obtained possession
of a part of her inheritance, so with what her hus¬
band had they managed to live comfortably.

They had a mutual liking for ethnology and the
open air. Investing in a camp outfit, they spent
much time in traveling about the South in most
agreeable companionship. It was a sort of gypsy
existence they led, roving from place to place and
studying the various Indian tribes, who had mil¬
lions of acres of land in that section. They had their
own horse and carriage, and stopped here and there
whenever convenient, sometimes camping out un¬
der the stars. The lure of the open road appealed
to them strongly, and it was while making a tempo¬
rary stop at Savannah, Georgia, that John Charles
Fremont was born, January 21, 1813.

Little wonder, considering the nomadic life of his
parents, that in future years he should plant the
Stars and Stripes on one of the loftiest peaks of the
Rockies or that he should name the entrance to San
Francisco Bay **The Golden Gate”!

At the time when Fremont was a Httle more
than seven months old, his future father-in-law.

6

A MAN UNAFRAID

Thomas Fi. Benton, then a young man of thirty-
one, engaged in a pistol duel with Andrew Jackson,
the bullets from the weapons passing through the
walls of the room which the Fremonts were occu¬
pying. No one was hurt in the fray, and in after
years the two noted Democrats became fast friends.
It was the intention of the elder Fremont to return
to France, and after the birth of two more children,
a girl and a boy, he began to make preparations for
the voyage, but his health failed and he died in
i8i8. The widow decided not to accompany her
brother-in-law, who was to go with them, on such
a long journey to a foreign land, but moved to
Charleston, South Carolina.

At an early age young Fremont entered the law
office of John W. Mitchell, a prominent attorney of
Charleston, who took a great interest in the preco¬
cious youth, employing a teacher for him in the
person of Doctor John Robertson, a Scotchman and
a graduate of Edinburgh. Fiis pupil must have been
very extraordinary and possessed of unusually lov¬
able qualities by what Doctor Robertson says of
him:

*T at once put him in the highest class, just begin¬
ning to read Cassar’s Commentaries, and, although
at first inferior, his prodigious memory and enthusi¬
astic application soon enabled him to surpass the
best. In short, in the space of one year he had with
the class and at odd hours he had with himself, he
read four books of Caesar, Cornelius Nepos, Sallust,
six books of Virgil, nearly all of Florace, and two
books of Livy; and in Greek all Grxca Majora and
four books of Flomer’s Iliad. ... I have hinted

A SON OF THE OLD SOUTH

7

that he was designed for the church, but when I
contemplated his bold, fearless disposition, his pow¬
erful inventive genius, his admiration of war-like
exploits, and his love of heroic and adventurous
deeds, I did not think it likely he would be a minis¬
ter of the Gospel. He had not, however, the least
appearance of any vice whatever. On the contrary,
he was the very pattern of modesty and virtue. I
could not help loving him, so much did he capti¬
vate me with his gentlemanly conduct and extraor¬
dinary progress. When under my instruction I dis¬
covered his early genius for poetic composition.
When the Greek class read the account that He¬
rodotus gives of the battle of Marathon, the bravery
of Miltiades and his ten thousand Greeks raised his
patriotic feelings to enthusiasm and drew from him
expressions which I thought were embodied a few
days later in some well-written verses in a Charles¬
ton paper on that far-famed, unequal but success¬
ful conflict against tyranny and oppression, and,
suspecting my talented pupil to be the author, I
went to his desk and asked him if he did not write
them, and he, hesitating at first, rather blushingly
confessed he did.”

As will be seen, Fremont in his youth gave ample
evidence of future distinction. There was much of
the poet in his nature, combined with a strong sense
of the dramatic and a vivid imagination. His boy¬
ish brain pictured a life among the vast unexplored
regions of America, great prairies stretching away
to the horizon and mighty mountain ranges rolHng
like huge billows against the western sky.

As is frequently the case with temperamental

8

A MAN UNAFRAID

and impetuous boys of seventeen, he fell madly in
love, the object of his passion being a beautiful
Creole girl. He completely lost his head and the
affair raised havoc with his studies, but it was a
passion that "extended its refining influence” over
his whole life.

"I was fond of study,” he writes, "and in what
I had been deficient easily caught up with the class.
In the new studies I did not forget the old, but at
times I neglected both. While present at class I
worked hard, but frequently absented myself for
days together. This infraction of college discipline
brought me frequent reprimands. During a long
time the faculty forebore with me because I was
always well prepared at recitation, but at length,
after a formal warning neglected, their patience
gave way and I was expelled from college for con¬
tinued disregard of discipline. I was then in the
senior class. In this act there was no ill feeling on
either side. My fault was such a neglect of the ordi¬
nary college usages and rules as the faculty could
not overlook, and I knew that I was a transgressor.
... I smiled to myself while I listened to words
about the disappointment of friends and the broken
career. I was living in a charmed atmosphere, and
their edict only gave me complete freedom. What
the poets dwell on as the rarest flower of life had
bloomed in my path — only seventeen, I was pas¬
sionately in love. This was what made me regard¬
less of discipline and careless of consequences.”

Several years after this the faculty had a change
of heart and conferred upon him the degrees of
Bachelor and Master of Arts. About this time two

A SON OF THE OLD SOUTH

9

books came into his possession which filled his soul
with delight. One was a "chronicle of men” in
which there were brave and noble deeds recorded
and there was one on practical astronomy, but in
the Dutch language. However, the maps were clear,
whether he could read the text or not, and the
work instilled in him a love of astronomy which
grew with advancing years, and which was a great
aid to him in his explorations. For a time he was
instructor in mathematics to senior classes in vari¬
ous schools, but he was growing older all the time
and felt that he must engage in something that
would insure a permanent livelihood. Through the
help of a friend of the family he was given the posi¬
tion of mathematical instructor aboard the sloop
of war 'Natchez, which departed for a three-year
cruise in South American waters. When he returned
to Charleston in 1 8 3 o he was passed by an examin¬
ing board of the navy for a professorship at Nor¬
folk. He did not accept the position tendered him,
however, as Fate willed otherwise. There was a law¬
suit in Charleston which involved a certain rice field
and called for an accurate survey of the property
in order to establish its boundaries. Because of his
mathematical ability, young Fremont was engaged
to do the work. So successfully did he accomplish
it that he decided to become a civil engineer, and
before long an opportunity presented itself which
gave him practical experience in his chosen field. A
preliminary survey of a route for a railway line be¬
tween Charleston and Cincinnati was undertaken
by the United States Topographical Engineers, and
Fremont was appointed one of the assistants. It was

lO

A MAN UNAFRAID

his first taste of roughing it, and he found camp
life very fascinating. His next task was a military
reconnaissance of various Southern states, where
much of the land was occupied by Cherokee In¬
dians. It seemed that President Jefferson had de¬
cided to remove these tribes of the southern and
eastern sections of the United States to some place
west of the Mississippi. The removal was completed
under President Jackson. The Cherokees, the last
of the tribes to remain, were very much opposed to
the change and some trouble with them was antici¬
pated. Of this particular work Fremont says:

"The accident of this employment curiously be¬
gan a period of like work for me among similar
scenes. There I found the path I was destined to
walk. Through many years to come the occupation
of my life was to be among Indians and in waste
places. There were to be no more years wasted in
tentative efforts to find a way for myself. The
work was laid out and it began here with a remark¬
able continuity of purpose.”

This survey, undertaken in the winter, had to be
finished in as brief a time as possible. On arriving
at the Cherokee camp the party found the men were
having a great carousal and were in no frame of
mind to treat the surveying crew hospitably, so the
squaws, who were sober, hid them in a log cabin
half filled with shucked corn, where they passed an
uncomfortable night, with the rats chasing over
them, shivering from the cold, and their ears as¬
sailed by the cries of the drunken Indians.

The wild life in the wintry woods, the nights
around the camp fire, and the many adventures

A SON OF THE OLD SOUTH 1 1

whetted the appetite of the young engineer for
more extensive operations in newer lands. His am¬
bition was soon realized, for he had a friend whose
influence meant much to him. The friend was the
Secretary of War, Mr. Poinsett, whose name is
rather familiar to the majority of people on account
of his discovery of the beautiful flaming flower
which bears the name Poinsettia. At his suggestion.
President Van Buren appointed young Fremont
second lieutenant of the United States Topographi¬
cal Corps. He was ordered to accompany a noted
French savant, Jean Nicolas Nicollet, who was to
survey a prairie region between the Mississippi and
Missouri rivers and as far north as the Canadian line.

Nicollet was a remarkable man, and Fremont
was very fortunate to come under his influence, as
from him the younger man learned many things of
a scientific nature that proved of inestimable value
in later years. Nicollet was a member of the French
Academy and had been given the decoration of the
Legion of Honor. He was an expert mathematician
and a musician as well, so the finer things in life ap¬
pealed to him very much. He had had an eventful
career and was now striving to overcome his finan¬
cial difficulties, with the government behind him.
Fremont regarded his association with Nicollet as a
stroke of good fortune, and well he might, for to
him it was a school of practical experience con¬
ducted by an eminent scientist. He joined Nicollet
in St. Louis, where he recalls meeting for the first
time General Robert E. Lee, at that time a Captain
in the United States Engineers. Among the Catho¬
lic clergy of St. Louis the French savant had many

12

A MAN UNAFRAID

friends, and he introduced Fremont to them, and
they had many pleasant times together, all of which
in after years was used against *'The Pathfinder”
in his race for the presidency.

He spent the seasons of 1838 and 1839 with
Nicollet. In the party were several men of promi¬
nence, including M. de Montmort of the French
legation and an expert German botanist, Charles
Geyer. As the region to be examined contained no
mountainous sections, the transportation was by
wagon. Canadian voyageurs were employed as
drivers. Their route was to Big Swan Lake, along
the Warju River and across the Coteau des Prairies
and to the Red Pipestone Quarry, concerning which
the Indians have a belief that the spirit of the Red
Pipestone speaks in thunder and lightning when¬
ever a visit is made to the Quarry. Strange to say,
a storm broke upon the party on arriving there.
The expedition afforded numerous exciting inci¬
dents, among which was a prairie fire that nearly
cost them all their belongings. The Lieutenant
also had his first experience in hunting buffalo,
which terminated in a way that caused him much
concern. In the midst of the furious chase he found
himself separated from his comrades, alone on the
vast prairie. He says:

"I could nowhere see any of my companions, and,
except that it lay somewhere to the south of where
I was, I had no idea of where to look for the camp.
The sun was getting low and I decided to ride di¬
rectly west, thinking that I might reach the river
hills above the fort while there was light enough for
me to find our trail of the morning. In this way I

A SON OF THE OLD SOUTH

13

could not miss the camp, but for the time being I
was lost. My horse was tired, and I rode slowly. He
was to be my companion and reliance in a long jour¬
ney and I would not press him. The sun went down
and there was no sign that the river was near. While
it was still light an antelope came circling around
me, but I would not fire at him. His appearance and
strange conduct seemed uncanny but companion¬
able, and the echo of my gun might not be a pleas¬
ant one. Long after dark I struck upon a great
number of paths, deeply worn and running along
together in a broad roadway. They were leading
directly toward the river and I supposed to the fort.
With my anxiety relieved I was walking content¬
edly along, when I suddenly recognized that these
were buffalo trails leading to some accustomed great
watering place. The discovery was something of a
shock, but I gathered myself together and walked
on. I had been for some time leading my horse.
Toward midnight I reached the breaks of the river
hills at a wooded ravine, and just then I saw a rocket
shoot up into the sky, far away to the south. That
was camp, but apparently some fifteen miles dis¬
tant, impossible for me to reach by the rough way
in the night around the ravines. So I led my horse
to the brink of the ravine, and on going down I
found water, which I brought up to him, using my
straw hat for a bucket. Taking off his saddle and
bridle and fastening him by his long lariat to one
of the stirrups, I made a pillow of the saddle and
slept soundly until morning. He did not disturb
me much, giving an occasional jerk to my pillow,
just enough to let me see that all was right. At the

14

A MAN UNAFRAID

first streak of dawn I saddled up. I had laid my gun
by my side in the direction where I had seen the
rocket, and, riding along that way, the morning was
not far advanced when I saw three men riding
toward me at speed. They did not slacken their
pace until they came directly up against me, when
the foremost touched me. It was Louison Freniere.
A reward had been promised by Mr. Nicollet to the
first who should touch me, and Louison won it.
And this was the end of my first buffalo hunt.”

To be lost on the prairie in an Indian country is
no laughing matter. The various lakes and rivers
of the region were sketched and there were astro¬
nomical observations ; the latitude and longitude of
their position were taken daily and much material
was gathered. To avert trouble with the Indians —
the Cheyennes in particular — they invited some of
the chiefs to their camp to ''indicate the time and
route” for their march. Accordingly, the chiefs
escorted the explorers to their village and pointed
out a camping place. The village consisted of three
hundred lodges and some two thousand Indians of
various tribes. The members of the party were in¬
vited to eat in the lodges of the several chiefs. They
were given choice bits of buffalo meat and in turn
they entertained the Indians, when a humorous
incident occurred.

Mr. Nicollet, in preparing the soup, which he
served, put a small portion of Swiss cheese into it to
give it a pleasant flavor, but the Indians, on tasting
the soup, looked at each other in astonishment,
thinking they were poisoned. However, the inter¬
preter showed them the cheese and explained that it

A SON OF THE OLD SOUTH

15

was a favorite food of the white man, when confi¬
dence was restored and the dinner resumed with
great satisfaction.

In the autumn the prairies were covered with
flowers of exceptional beauty — the asters and
golden rod growing in profusion throughout the
lowlands. The labors of the expedition closed on
the banks of the Mississippi and in November Fre¬
mont, with a detachment of the party, found him¬
self at Prairie du Chien in a bark canoe. A steam¬
boat was about to start down the river for St. Louis,
but he decided to take a needed rest and wait for the
next one. Here he learned a valuable lesson, for the
"next one” left the following spring. Thus he
learned the value of a day. But, as there is no loss
without some small gain, he became proficient as an
ice-skater, the river being frozen over from bank
to bank. However, after a hard trip by wagon
through Illinois, the party reached St. Louis, and
Fremont went on to Washington to assist Mr. Nic¬
ollet in preparing the material collected on the ex¬
pedition. On arriving at the Capital the Lieutenant
learned of the death of his brother. He had lost his
sister some time before, and the mother was now
left alone. He paid a visit to Charleston, which
served to console her to some extent, and, then, with
Lieutenant Scammon, devoted himself to the map
material of Nicollet. In this work he came in con¬
tact with another highly gifted man in the person
of Mr. Hassler, superintendent of the Coast Survey.
He was a Swiss by birth, and, like Nicollet, was
quite original in his scientific work, though very
abrupt in his language and the exact opposite of

i6

A MAN UNAFRAID

Mr. Nicollet. They occupied quarters in the Coast
Survey Building overlooking the waters of the Po¬
tomac. It was situated on Capitol Hill, and here
Fremont enjoyed the bachelor apartments of these
two scientists. It was a good opportunity for him
— the close association with two men who had de¬
voted their lives to scientific pursuits. Their con¬
versation was an inspiration to the Lieutenant and
he learned much that proved of immense value to
him in his future work. It was while working
with Mr. Nicollet that Fremont met Senator Ben¬
ton, who was greatly interested in the report of the
expedition. In writing of this he says:

*'The results of our journey between the two
great rivers had suggested to him the same work for
the broader field beyond the Missouri. ... In the
course of his inquiries he dwelt on the unoccupied
country beyond the Missouri, the existing, uncer¬
tain, and incomplete knowledge concerning it. The
interview left on me a profound impression and
raised excited interest. The ideas suggested re¬
mained fixtures in my mind. The thought of pene¬
trating into the recesses of the wilderness region
filled me with enthusiasm — I saw visions. Formerly
I had been entirely devoted to my intended profes¬
sion of engineering. In this interview with Mr. Ben¬
ton my mind had been quick to see a larger field and
differing and greater results. It would be travel
over a part of the world which still remained the
New — the opening up of unknown lands; the mak¬
ing unknown countries known. This interview
with Mr. Benton was pregnant with results and
decisive in my life.

JESSIE BENTON FREMONT

Mrs. Fremont was a devoted wife, a helpful companion, and shared
many of the hardships and all of the ideals and visions of her
famous husband. She loved California, and spent her last days in

Los Angeles.

■**1

I

■f

A SON OF THE OLD SOUTH

17

Both Fremont and Nicollet were frequent visi¬
tors at the home of Senator Benton, where they met
a number of men of influence and standing, among
whom was Benton’s colleague. Senator Linn of Mis¬
souri. Owing to the ill health of Nicollet, Fremont
and Scammon were obliged to do most of the office
work in connection with the topographical reports.

The Lieutenant’s friendship with Senator Benton
led to a most important event in his career — a life¬
long romance. The Bentons had four daughters and
a son, Randolph, a lad of twelve years. Jessie, the
second daughter, was attending school at George¬
town, and Fremont accompanied her elder sister to
a concert, where he met her for the first time. She
was only fifteen, but the "bloom of her girlish
beauty” captivated him, and the impression she
made upon him grew stronger as the months passed
by. She came home during the school vacation,
and the two saw much of each other. It was a case
of love at first sight with both of them, and it was
also a case of love that did not run smoothly, for
the Bentons were not at all pleased with the turn
of events. They were greatly perturbed when they
learned how matters stood. In the first place, they
had other plans for their daughter, and, anyway,
Jessie was entirely too young to think of marriage.
Not that in point of character they had anything
against Fremont, but the lovers should wait a year
at least. However, he was always well received at
the Benton home.

Nicollet wished to have the lower part of the Des
Moines River surveyed to add to his map — a sec¬
tion then occupied by the Sacs and Fox Indians —

i8

A MAN UNAFRAID

and Fremont was requested to do the work. In a
spiritless and down-hearted way he set out to the
discharge of this duty, not convinced that absence
makes the heart grow fonder. He was accompanied
by Geyer, the botanist, and the work was put
through in short order. It is quite probable — and
Fremont insinuates as much — that the order to sur¬
vey the Des Moines River originated with the Ben¬
tons, who had hoped that a lapse of time would
cause the lovers to forget, but it only increased their
fervor. It had been arranged that a year should pass
before their marriage, but to lovers a year is as an
age, and they decided that it would be very foolish
to be separated for so long, therefore on October 19,
1841, they quietly departed for the home of the
Reverend Father van Horseigh, where they were
united in marriage. Of course they afterward re¬
ceived the parental blessing. Fremont was twenty-
eight, while his bride was seventeen. He pays the
following tribute to his wife in the ‘'Memoirs”:

"Her qualities were all womanly, and education
had curiously preserved the down of a modesty
which was innate. There had been no experience of
life to brush away the bloom. She had inherited
from her father his grasp of mind, comprehending
with a tenacious memory; but with it a quickness of
perception and instant realization of subjects and
scenes in their completed extent which did not be¬
long to his; and with these warm sympathies, a
generous pity for human suffering, and tenderness
and sensibility that made feeling take the place of
mind.”

The marriage of the Fremonts proved one of the

A SON OF THE OLD SOUTH

19

happiest in history, and as time went on Mrs. Fre¬
mont became noted for her high intellectual quali¬
ties. She was the wife for “The Pathfinder,” a help¬
mate in every sense of the word.

In a coterie of friends in Washington Senator
Benton was the leading spirit, and it was decided
among them the time had arrived for some definite
action in regard to the Territory of Oregon. The
idea was to open the way for emigration through
the mountains, “to indicate and describe the line of
travel and the best position for military posts; and
to describe and fix in position the South Pass on the
Rocky Mountains at which this initial expedition
was to terminate.” However, it was not alone a
survey the coterie had in mind. There was some¬
thing else far more important — something of ines¬
timable value to the United States. It was this that
Senator Benton, with prophetic vision, saw and the
realization of which was his fondest dream — a great
Western empire under the flag of the American Re¬
public. In this ambition he had a devoted cham¬
pion in Fremont. They were both determined that
California should not be lost to us, and “resolved to
wrest back this region and hold it where it be¬
longed.” In fact, Mr. Benton had talked the matter
over with Mr. Jefferson, whom he visited in 1825.

“The occupation of the lower Columbia by
American emigration and the enforcing of our title
to its whole valley and the Pacific north to the
forty-ninth parallel had already been the aim of
his persistent effort before he entered political life.”

Mr. Benton introduced a bill in Congress to au¬
thorize the President to use a detachment of the

20

A MAN UNAFRAID

army and navy to act eflSciently in protecting
American interests in Oregon. To show the crass
ignorance then existing in regard to the great
Northwest, the bill was vigorously opposed. Sena¬
tor Dickinson of New Jersey exposed his lack of
knowledge of the territory under consideration by
saying that “from the meridian of Council Bluffs
extending to the Rocky Mountains the country can
never be cultivated and, of course, never admit of
a civilized population.” He also asked if the Terri¬
tory of Oregon can ever become a member of this
Union. He scouted the idea that the West would
ever amount to anything save as a hunting ground
for Indians. Mr. Benton was unwearied in his ef¬
forts to obtain from Congress some recognition of
the importance of the Western territory to this
country, and on his monument erected in St. Louis
are the prophetic words:

There is the East;

There is the road to India.

And this road ran directly west to the Golden Gate
— a road that Benton visioned and Fremont made a
reality.

CHAPTER II

First Expedition to the Rocky Mountains

The Topographical Bureau ordered the party to
explore the country lying between the Missouri
River and the Rocky Mountains, but this was so
lunited in area that Fremont proposed an exten¬
sion to include South Pass which was granted. As
will be seen it was to be a survey, but the real object
of the expedition was known only to the select few
in the confidence of Senator Benton. It became in
reahty an auxiliary to the Oregon emigration. To
this, no doubt. President Harrison would have given
his hearty sanction, but Mr. Tyler was not in sym¬
pathy with any movement calculated to aid Ore¬
gon settlement. Little money was advanced, there¬
fore, to defray expenses and to obtain this required
prudence and caution. The closest economy was to
be observed in outfitting.

At first it was planned to send Mr. Nicollet as
head of the party, but owing to his continued ill
health and the certainty of hardships it was decided
that Lieutenant Fremont should take full charge,
so on May 2, 1842, he bade good-by to his young
bride and set out for St. Louis, then the most impor¬
tant city of the West and the point of departure for
Western expeditions. While in St. Louis, where he
remained several weeks, he was the guest of Mrs.
Sarah Benton Brant, a niece of Senator Benton.
There was much to do in preparing for such a jour¬
ney. In the first place it was necessary to engage

(21)

22

A MAN UNAFRAID

men of the right sort. Lucien Maxwell was chosen
as hunter. He was fairly well acquainted with the
various Indian tribes and was a man upon whom
reliance could be placed.

On leaving St. Louis, Fremont traveled by
steamer up the Missouri to a point near the mouth of
the Kansas River, where Kansas City now stands. It
was while making this steamboat trip that he met
the man whose name was to be linked with his in all
the explorations of Western territory — ^Kit Carson.
This noted scout was just returning from St. Louis,
where he had gone to place his little daughter in a
convent in that city. Carson was then in his thirty-
third year. He was a native of Missouri, according
to Fremont, and since the age of fifteen, had spent
his life on the Western border as trapper and guide.
He was an unerring rifle shot and was more than
successful as an Indian fighter — in fact, the most
celebrated character in the annals of Western his¬
tory.

*'Small in stature and slenderly limbed,” says
G. F. Ruxton in describing him, "but with muscles
of wire, with a fair complexion and quiet, intelli¬
gent features, to look at Kit none would suppose
that the mild-looking being before him was an in¬
carnate devil in Indian fighting and had raised more
hair from the heads of redskins than any other
two men in the Western country, and yet thirty
winters had scarcely planted a line or furrow on his
clean-shaven face. He was first in every quality
which constitutes excellence in a mountaineer,
whether of indomitable courage or perfect indiffer¬
ence to death or danger, with an iron frame capable

FIRST EXPEDITION

23

of withstanding hunger, thirst, heat, cold, fatigue,
and hardships of every kind; of wonderful presence
of mind and endless resources in time of peril; with
the instinct of an animal and the moral courage of
a man who was taller for his inches than Kit Car-
son.”

Fremont was greatly pleased with Carson, whom
he found quiet and unassuming, with a frank speech
and address. It had been the Lieutenant’s intention
to engage an old mountaineer named Drips as guide,
but when Carson announced that he himself was
available, Fremont did not hesitate to engage him.
Thus began the long association and enduring
friendship of the two.

The Lieutenant had engaged the services of
twenty-one men in St. Louis, most of them Creole
and Canadian voyageurs, who had been in the em¬
ploy of various fur companies in the Indian coun¬
try. As topographer he engaged Mr. Charles Preuss,
a native of Germany, who had come to Fremont
with a note from Mr. Hassler while he was still in
Washington. Preuss did not impress the Lieuten¬
ant very favorably at first. Flis face was a rosy red
and in his anxiety he stammered considerably — so
much so, in fact, that Fremont took him outside
the house to talk with him, thinking it was a case
of intoxication. But the poor fellow was without
any means of support on account of the failure of
an appropriation, and was almost speechless on
account of hunger and nervousness. It was at
Christmas time and his family were in want. In a
few moments Fremont realized his predicament and
came to the rescue. They remained friends ever after.

^4

A MAN UNAFRAID

Aside from the twenty-one men composing the
party there were Henry Brandt, a youth of nine¬
teen, and Randolph, the young son of the Bentons.
One can well imagine what such a trip meant to a
lad of twelve years. It meant a life in the great out-
of-doors and adventure galore, with enough excit¬
ing incidents to keep the blood well stirred. The
men were well armed and all mounted, save for
those who drove the carts, which contained the pro¬
visions and instruments. They camped an hour or
so before sunset when the carts were arranged so as
to form a barricade, in the center of which the tents
were pitched, and, as night came on, the horses
were picketed. Guard was maintained as soon as
they reached the country where it was thought a
necessary precaution. The first day, June loth, it
rained and the party got a thorough soaking.

On the 14th of June they reached the ford of the
Kansas River near the present city of Topeka, and,
owing to the late rains, they found the waters
swollen and as turbulent as those of the Missouri.
They experienced much difficulty in crossing, Fre¬
mont bringing into service his india-rubber boat,
which he had brought with him for the survey of
the Platte River. This boat was original with the
Lieutenant. It was five feet in width and twenty in
length and had air-tight compartments. But these
seemed useless, for in making the trip across the
raging current the boat capsized, emptying men,
carts, boxes, and bales into the river. Two of the
party nearly lost their lives. But those on shore
leaped to the rescue and almost everything was
saved except some bags of coffee and sugar. And to

FIRST EXPEDITION

25

lose coffee at such a time is a deprivation, indeed!
On account of the indisposition of two of the party
Fremont laid over the following day, during which
time the provisions were dried out and the cart cov¬
ers painted.

A few days passed without anything of interest
occurring and they approached the country where
the Pawnees ranged. These Indians, when in suffi¬
cient number, were given to plundering emigrant
trains. Game was plentiful, elk and antelope show¬
ing themselves at intervals. It was here that a night
guard was first kept. Carson had the watch from
ten o’clock till midnight, and to him were assigned
young Brandt and the still younger Benton. They
were stationed some distance apart and in the night
Fremont could hear Randolph call to Carson when
his imagination became too vivid and he fancied
he heard some prowler in his immediate vicinity.
This must have been a novel and highly alluring
experience for a boy of such tender years. But what
could be more fascinating? The sleeping camp, the
dying fire, the rustle of the night wind in the over¬
hanging trees, the white moon drifting above the
lonely ridge, the mournful hoot of the owl and the
occasional complaint of some nocturnal visitor;
then the moments of intense silence, almost oppres¬
sive — the brooding spirit of the solitude — all these
gave a thrill to the heart of youth that could never
be forgotten.

One evening, while stopping near the present
town of Kearney, three Indians came into camp —
two men and a small boy. They were Cheyennes,
who had been on a horse-stealing expedition among

26

A MAN UNAFRAID

the Pawnees and had failed miserably. They were
now making their escape. The boy and Randolph
soon struck up an acquaintance and Fremont in¬
vited them to supper. For several days they accom¬
panied the party, which was going in their direc¬
tion, and some valuable information was gained
from them as to the water courses of the country.

The herds of buflfalo grew more numerous and
of greater size and many were the furious rides in
pursuit of the monarchs of the Western prairie
lands. One of these hunts is well described by Fre¬
mont:

**As we were riding quietly along the bank a
grand herd of buffalo, some seven or eight hundred
in number, came crowding up from the river, where
they had been to drink and commenced crossing the
plain, eating as they went. ... It was too fine a
prospect for a chase to be lost; and halting for a
few moments, the horses were brought up and sad¬
dled and Kit Carson, Maxwell, and I started to¬
gether. They were now somewhat less than half a
mile distant and we rode easily along until within
about three hundred yards when a sudden agitation,
a wavering in the band, and a galloping to and fro
of some that were scattered along the skirts, gave
us the intimation that we were discovered. We
started together at a hand gallop, riding steadily
abreast of each other, and here the interest of the
chase became so engrossingly intense that we were
sensible to nothing else. We were now closing upon
them rapidly and the front of the mass was already
in rapid motion for the hills, and in a few seconds
the movement had communicated itself to the

FIRST EXPEDITION

27

whole herd. A crowd of bulls, as usual, brought up
in the rear, and now and then some of them faced
about, and then dashed on after the band a short
distance and turned and looked again, as if more
than half inclined to stand and fight. . . . My
horse was a trained hunter, famous in the West
under the name of Proveau, and with his eyes flash¬
ing and the foam flying from his mouth, sprang on
after the cow like a tiger. In a few moments he
brought me alongside of her, and rising in the stir¬
rups, I fired at the distance of a yard, the ball enter¬
ing at the termination of the long hair and passing
near the heart. She fell headlong at the report of the
gun, and checking my horse, I looked around for
my companions. At a little distance Kit was on the
ground, engaged in tying his horse to the horns of
a cow, which he was preparing to cut up. Among
the scattered bands, at some distance below, I
caught a glimpse of Maxwell; and while I was look¬
ing a light wreath of white smoke curled away from
his gun, from which I was too far to hear the report.
Nearer, and between me and the hills, toward which
they were directing their course, was the body of
the herd, and giving my horse the rein we dashed
after them. A thick cloud of dust hung upon their
rear, which filled my mouth and eyes and nearly
smothered me. In the midst of this I could see noth¬
ing and the buffalo were not distinguishable until
within thirty feet. They crowded together more
densely still as I came upon them and rushed along
in such a compact body that I could not obtain an
entrance — the horse almost leaping upon them. In
a few moments the mass divided to the right and

28

A MAN UNAFRAID

left, the horns clattering with a noise heard above
everything else, and my horse darted into the open¬
ing. Five or six bulls charged on us as we dashed
along the line, but were left far behind, and sin¬
gling out a cow I gave her my fire, but struck too
high. She gave a tremendous leap, scoured on faster
than before. I reined up my horse and the band
swept on like a torrent, leaving the place quiet and
clear.”

That night the camp was disturbed by the howl¬
ing of wolves, which ventured very near, and in the
morning sat not far off, impatiently waiting for
the start when they could fall upon the bones of the
buffalo.*^'

On arriving at the mouth of the South Platte
they crossed it as rapidly as possible owing to the
quicksands and the next day, which was July 3rd,
they cached a barrel of salt pork in view of their
traveling companions, the Cheyennes, who had a
dislike for pork and would not return to dig it up.
They continued up the left bank of the South Platte
for some twenty-five miles. Wood was scarce and
they utilized "buffalo chips” for fire purposes. The
next day was the 4th of July and it was celebrated
in true American style by a morning salute and
much enthusiasm. A small portion of liquor was
served to the men by way of a special treat and a
feast was prepared, consisting of macaroni soup,
buffalo meat, fruit cake, and preserves, obtained in
St. Louis and kept for just such occasions. Too
much rum was imbibed by the Cheyenne lad and he

*In Fremont’s day thousands of American bison were to be found on the
Western plains. Today they are practically extinct. With no game laws to protect
them, it shows how soon the buffalo have been depleted through ruthless slaughter.

FIRST EXPEDITION

29

became "extremely drunk,” much to the delight of
the Creoles and voyageurs.

On arriving at the junction of the North and
South forks of the Platte, Fremont decided to divide
his party, the main contingent to proceed to the
American Company’s Fort at the mouth of the
Laramie Fork, where they were to await his arrival.
Meantime he was to ascend the South Fork for the
purpose of making observations relative to the
establishment of posts on the line connecting the
settlements with the South Pass of the Rocky
Mountains by way of the Arkansas and South and
Laramie forks of the Platte. He was accompanied
by Mr. Preuss and four men, including his "favor¬
ite,” Basil Lajeunesse. However, as Mr. Preuss’s
horse was in poor condition the Lieutenant sent him
back after the first day to rejoin the others.

They traveled over a sandy region for some time
with groves of trees on the opposite side of the river.
As they were riding along they noticed horses’
tracks, which indicated the presence of Indians.
Furthermore they found the carcass of a buffalo
recently killed, and were now more than watchful,
scanning the horizon with their glasses, but seeing
nothing to cause alarm. Then they espied some
dark objects on the hills, which they at first took
to be buffalo, but in a short time discovered that
they were Indians — two or three hundred of them.
The condition of the Lieutenant’s horses was not of
the best — ^in fact, the one of Basil’s had to be led.
Fremont attempted to reach a line of timber before
the Indians came up, but was unable to do so. The
savages were riding rapidly and were naked save for

30

A MAN UNAFRAID

a breechcloth and looked very warlike. Fremont
and his men had their fingers on the triggers of their
guns in anticipation of serious trouble. It is evi¬
dent the party were prepared to take sudden action,
and just as Maxwell was about to fire he recognized
the Indian in the lead and shouted, "You damn fool!
Don’t you know me?” These words in the lan¬
guage of his tribe apparently surprised the redskin,
and as Fremont rode toward him he struck his
breast and exclaimed, "Arapahoe!”

It seems that Maxwell, a year or so before, had
been a trader among the Indians of the tribe and
knew many of them. In a few moments the little
band of explorers found themselves completely
surrounded by the half-naked warriors, who asked
all sorts of questions. They wanted to know who the
Indians were in the rear and seemed disappointed
when told they were Cheyennes, as they were look¬
ing for Pawnee scalps. In the Arapahoe village
were twenty Cheyenne lodges, where lived the
families of the Indians, and they began decorating
themselves for the homecoming. Included in their
wearing apparel were a number of calico shirts
which the Lieutenant afterward learned were the
property of his men. They also painted their faces
with vermilion, given them by Fremont, and made
themselves as presentable as possible in view of the
fact that they brought back no Pawnee ponies.

There was an immense herd of buffalo in the
vicinity, and the Indians planned to surround them,
so the travelers dismounted and watched the sport.
After the killing was over one of the chiefs asked
Fremont to the village, where he and his party were

FIRST EXPEDITION

31

served with buffalo meat by the squaws. After pass-
ing around the pipe of peace the five or six chiefs,
who had drifted in and who sat in silence, expressed
a curiosity to know what brought the party into
that region. Fremont explained to them the object
of his journey, which was to establish military posts
on the way to the mountains, and, while it was
by no means pleasing information, it in no way
changed their courteous attitude toward him.

The faint outlines of the Rocky Mountains were
now discernible with Long’s Peak showing dimly.
On the morning of the 9 th of July they saw several
persons approaching on horseback, and, on reach¬
ing them, they were found to be two white men
and a mulatto named Jim Beckwith, who had lived
for a number of years with the Crow Indians and
who, on account of some act of bravery, was made
a chief. They were searching for a band of horses
in charge of Mr. Chabouard, whose camp was some
miles farther up the river, where they arrived later
in the day. Here they were treated very hospitably,
being served with mint julep and coffee, with the
luxury of sugar.

In the evening of July loth Fremont reached
St. Vrain’s Fort, situated on the South Fork of the
Platte and about seventeen miles east of Long’s
Peak, where now stands the town of Evans, Colo¬
rado. Here the Platte becomes a mountain stream,
its waters being crystal clear. They were received
most cordially at the fort by Mr. St. Vrain. As
Maxwell had passed most of his time between here
and Taos, New Mexico, he was right at home among
old friends.

32

A MAN UNAFRAID

From Mr. St. Vrain the Lieutenant obtained a
couple of horses and two good mules. Fie also hired a
Spaniard and two other men, but he was unable to
get any provisions as the supply from Taos had not
arrived. A few pounds of coffee were obtained, how¬
ever, and in addition to this they had some dried
buffalo meat. Though the mountains were near at
hand, Fremont could not visit them as much as he
would have liked to do, but the object of his sur¬
vey lay in the ranges to the north.

FFis next point of destination was the Fort at the
mouth of Laramie Fork, about a hundred and
twenty-five miles distant. For a time their route
was down the valley of the Platte, which resembled
a beautiful garden, so varied and fragrant was the
profusion of flowers. FFis course was almost due
north and with the low line of the Black FFills on
one side and the mountains on the other they pro¬
ceeded, halting at noon for a brief resting spell at
the Cache a la Poudre, a mountain stream a hun¬
dred feet wide and flowing over a rocky bed. It was
here that Fremont turned an obstinate mule over to
the Spaniard to ride. He describes the animal as a
"perfect vixen” and it took half an hour to get the
saddle adjusted, but once on her back the rider re¬
mained there despite all the furious efforts of the
mule to dislodge him. No doubt the Lieutenant
enjoyed the proceeding.

That evening they camped on Crow Creek, hav¬
ing traveled about twenty-eight miles. The next
day they were in a desert country and suffered much
from thirst, but toward evening came upon a beau¬
tiful stream with willows growing along its banks.

FORT HALL

Built in 1834. An important station on the Oregon Trail.

RESIDENCE OF KIT CARSON
Taos, New Mexico.

FIRST EXPEDITION

33

Here a bufFalowas killed and the Lieutenant amused
himself with hunting plants among the grass. The
elevation was now over five thousand feet, and as
they journeyed on the country presented a dreary
aspect. It seemed as though it had been "swept by
fires and in every direction the same dull, ash-col¬
ored hue, derived from the formation, met the eye.”
The party crossed three or four forks of Horse
Creek in the distance of twelve miles, and Fremont
was struck by the extraordinary geological compo¬
sition of the region, the huge rocks resembling ma¬
sonry at a little distance and the whole having the
appearance of a fortified town. At the foot of
Castle Rock they traversed winding passages cut
by the waters of the hill where the walls rose from
thirty to forty feet perpendicularly.

The heat of the next day was exceedingly op¬
pressive, the horses traveling with difficulty and
were almost exhausted when they reached the wa¬
ters of the Platte. Here they found the tracks of
the carts belonging to the rest of the party, which
had been made a day or so before. The close of the
next day brought them to Laramie’s Fork, where
was situated Fort Platte and, just beyond. Fort
Laramie, maintained by the American Fur Com¬
pany. It was on the bank of the river, "its lofty
walls, white-washed and picketed, with the large
bastions at the angles, gave it quite an imposing ap¬
pearance in the uncertain light of evening.” Close
by were a number of lodges of the Sioux Indians,
the whole forming a striking picture. Mr. Bou-
deau was in charge of the fort and he received the
party most kindly. Fremont had letters for him

34

A MAN UNAFRAID

from St. Louis. The rest of the party were en¬
camped on the river bank near the fort. They re¬
ported considerable hardship.

Mr. Preuss had kept a diary in which he recorded
the happenings of each day. Once there was the cry
of "Indians” and a great scramble for firearms and
a quick galloping of scouts, but instead of Indians
the horsemen they had sighted proved to be white
traders and trappers, under the leadership of Jim
Bridger, a noted Western character, to whom is
credited the discovery of Great Salt Lake. Mr.
Bridger informed them as to conditions ahead and
the news imparted was rather disquieting. He said
that in the vicinity of Red Buttes, which lay di¬
rectly in the path of the Fremont party, the Sioux
Indians had gone on the warpath and offered no
quarter to any living white man. On account of
his familiarity with the country Bridger had taken
a circuitous route to reach Laramie Fort through
the Black Hills, thus avoiding contact with the
roving tribes.

These stories of Indian warfare threw a scare into
some of Fremont’s men. A number of them be¬
came greatly agitated and around the camp fire
gruesome tales were told of horrible atrocities com¬
mitted by the Sioux, all of which tended to increase
the nervousness of the party. The following morn¬
ing the majority of them were very much dispirited
and several exhibited sheer cowardice, threaten¬
ing to return to civilization; but after Clement
Lambert, together with five others, declared he
would follow Fremont to the end of his journey,
no matter what happened, the discouraged and

FIRST EXPEDITION

35

timid ones decided to continue as far as Laramie
Fork, where there was no possible danger. Of course
these men could hardly be blamed for not wishing
to risk their lives in an unequal contest with hun¬
dreds of Indian braves, but it is to Fremont’s credit
that the disturbing report made no impression upon
him. Even Carson, who was one of the most expe¬
rienced of Indian fighters, fully supported Bridget
in his opinion of the danger to be encountered, and,
accordingly, made his will, an act which completely
upset the morale of the most of the men. It was then
that Fremont determined to count noses, as it were,
to find who would go with him and who would
not. As for himself he felt in duty bound to com¬
plete the survey as he had requested his original or¬
ders to be changed to include the South Pass and
not to reach it would place him in an embarrassing
position. Moreover, he was not a West Pointer and,
therefore, he must proceed rather than face the jibes
of the graduates of that military institution. But
more than any of these things his determination to
continue was prompted by the spirit of downright
bravery. He would not turn back.

That evening he gathered his men about him and
explained to them that as a precaution he had en¬
gaged Mr. Bissonette as interpreter and had taken
every possible means to insure the safety of the
party; while he considered the stories of Indian out¬
rages greatly exaggerated, he was willing to pay
them what was due in case any of them wished to
return, as his desire was to have only men with him
on whom he could rely should occasion arise. Only
one man came forward and asked to be discharged.

3^

A MAN UNAFRAID

The others had become imbued with the spirit of
their intrepid leader.

Considering discretion the better part of valor
Fremont decided to leave Masters Brandt and Ben¬
ton at Laramie Fort, where they would be in no
danger. Randolph had endeared himself to the men
and they regretted the decision, yet they knew it
was for the best. In case of a fight a small boy might
be in the way.

The Indians at the Fort betrayed their usual cu¬
riosity and Fremont says that his camp from morn¬
ing until night was constantly crowded with them.
His tent was the only place they respected, and here
the chiefs and men of distinction were wont to
gather. His astronomical instruments excited their
curiosity very much and those that were used in
"talking with the sun and the stars they looked
upon with special reverence as mysterious things of
great medicine.”

Everything was ready for the departure, tents
struck, horses saddled and the Lieutenant had
walked to the fort to take the stirrup cup with his
friends, when several Indian chiefs forced their
way into the room in spite of all opposition and
handing him a note, sat down in silence. The mis¬
sive was from Mr. Bissonette informing Fremont
that it would be highly dangerous for him to leave
until the return of the young warriors within seven
or eight days as they would probably fire upon him
at sight. After reading the note and fully compre¬
hending its import Fremont turned to one of the
chiefs, who arose and addressed him, stating the
cause of the Indians’ grievance and his wish not to

FIRST EXPEDITION

37

see the party go on under the circumstances. Fre¬
mont, in reply, asked them to send two or three of
their people with him until they should meet the
young warriors, after which he would make them
valuable presents. They declined this offer, saying
there were no young men among them to go and
anyway they would be afraid to interfere with
them. After much talk the conference was broken
up and the Lieutenant was about to begin his march
when Chief Bull’s Tail arrived to say they would
send a young man along, but he was poor and had no
horse and asked that he be given one. To this Fre¬
mont consented, and it was agreed that the young
man should join them at their night encampment.

They continued their journey, traveling over an
interesting plateau between the North Fork of the
Platte on the right and the Laramie on the left. The
first day nothing of special interest occurred except
for the exciting time occupied in erecting an Indian
lodge, which the Lieutenant had secured at the fort
in lieu of his thin tent, which was not rain-proof.
The next morning before breaking camp the young
Indian engaged at the fort came up to the Lieuten¬
ant and asked to see his horse; otherwise he would
proceed no further. Fremont was tempted to send
him back to his people, but his presence seemed to
give added confidence to the men, so a horse of his
choice was picked out and the journey was con¬
tinued.

In his observations the Lieutenant considered the
neighborhood of Fort Laramie as a suitable place for
the establishment of a military post, as it would pre¬
vent any coalitions as then existed among the vari-

38

A MAN UNAFRAID

ous Indian tribes and would also keep the road to
Oregon open constantly through the Sweetwater
Valley and the South Pass of the mountains. Means
to safeguard the emigrants bound for Oregon was
the chief concern of Fremont.

There was a scarcity of rain that year and the
country was very dry. The creeks had shrunken
until they were but dry beds and in consequence the
animals suffered. The voyageurs, who depended
upon the annual rise to get their furs to St. Louis,
were disappointed, the rivers being low. There was
little feed for the horses and mules; grass was in
scant patches here and there, and the men had to
cut boughs of the cottonwood for the animals to
browse upon; and, altogether, the drouth presented
a serious problem.

July 23 rd was a day of some excitement as the
scouts came in with reports that Indians were in the
vicinity. The party at once turned toward the river,
where they erected a barricade of the carts within
which the horses were hobbled and picketed. The
guns were discharged and reloaded and the men
posted in advantageous positions. All was made
ready to give the Indians a warm reception in case
they appeared belligerent. Meantime the interpre¬
ter, accompanied by the young Indian, went to
meet the redskins and in about ten minutes returned
in company with two Sioux. They appeared very
sulky, and it was with difficulty that Fremont was
able to gain any information from them. They be¬
longed to a party which had been following an emi¬
grant train and which they overtook at Rock Inde¬
pendence. A disagreement arose among them, one

FIRST EXPEDITION

39

portion wishing to attack the train while the other
opposed it; then they quarreled and finally sepa¬
rated, breaking up into small bands, the main part
going over into the territory occupied by the Crows.
The two encountered by the Fremont party were
of those who advocated attacking the emigrants,
and for this reason some of the Lieutenant’s men
suggested shooting them on the spot, but this was
frowned upon and they glanced suspiciously at
the well-armed voyageurs as they proceeded on
their way.

It may be noted that Fremont was more than an
amateur botanist. Each day found him recording
and classifying in his notebook the names of the va¬
rious plants and shrubs that came under his obser¬
vation. He was a keen student and little of impor¬
tance escaped his watchful eye.

A day’s travel brought them to a pleasant grove
where they erected scaffolds for the purpose of dry¬
ing buffalo meat. The hunters were out, and in the
afternoon came in with half a dozen cows, which
were dressed and cut into small strips and hung on
the scaffolds to dry for future use. It was the Lieu¬
tenant’s idea to provide food for the next couple of
weeks, should the buffalo prove scarce, and some
time was spent in the drying process.

On July 28 th the party forded the Platte and
some four miles beyond came upon a band of In¬
dians belonging to the Sioux tribe. They were part
of a large village including Arapahoes and Chey¬
ennes that had broken up and were now on the way
home, the main portion having taken another route
where feed would be more abundant. From these

40

A MAN UNAFRAID

Indians the Lieutenant gleaned some information
not calculated to encourage him. In fact it was
news of the most discouraging kind. Further on, it
was reported, owing to the drouth and scourge of
grasshoppers, there was not a buffalo to be found,
or a single blade of grass. The Indians said they
had almost starved and several of their horses had
died.

The party faced a gloomy prospect. When the
Indians had communicated all these things through
the interpreter, Mr. Bissonette, he immediately
turned to Fremont and advised that he abandon
any attempt to proceed further. "The best advice I
can give you is to turn back at once,” he said. Again
the Lieutenant summoned his men around him and
told them what he had heard about the country
beyond and again he left it to them to decide
whether or not they would go on. As for himself
he should continue. Flere we see demonstrated the
indomitable will and determination of Fremont.
The word "can’t” was not in his dictionary. He felt
reasonably certain that he could count on five or
six of his men remaining and, when he put the ques¬
tion to them as a whole, not a man flinched from
the undertaking.

The next move was to divest the expedition of
everything not necessary to its progress. A deep
hole was dug in the bank near the river, where the
things not essential to equipment were buried. The
carts were carefully concealed among the willows,
and thus stripped of all encumbrances, they pro¬
ceeded on their way, following up the North Platte
to the mouth of the Sweetwater and to the Red

FIRST EXPEDITION

41

Buttes, whose geological composition is mostly red
sandstone. From this point Kit Carson became the
guide as he was fairly familiar with the country,
and during their midday rest grass was discovered
in abundance.

So far the Indian reports were without founda¬
tion. After traveling about twenty-five miles they
found a fine place to camp for the night, and the
following morning, after going some twelve miles,
they came upon a former Indian village, where there
were numerous discarded poles lying about and the
skeletons of horses. That night they camped on an
island in the river where the grass was luxurious
and from which point they could see bands of
mountain goats on the hills above. They named
their camp Goat Island. Two or three of these ani¬
mals were shot by the hunters.

On the morning of July 3 ist the party left the
course of the Platte to cross over to the Sweetwater,
about fifteen miles distant. The hills along the
route, rising to a height of eight hundred feet, were
bare and rocky and on reaching the Sweetwater
they camped for the night, giving the hunters a
chance to get a few buffalo which had appeared in
a near-by valley. Here they suffered a rainstorm
and were without shelter of any kind except for
the absinthe bushes, which only grow from two to
three feet high. The next morning they moved up
the river about seven miles and came to Rock Inde¬
pendence, which is of granite and is six hundred and
fifty feet long and forty feet in height. It was
almost entirely destitute of vegetation and bore the
names of many travelers, missionaries, traders, and

4^

A MAN UNAFRAID

not a few men known to science. This rock was a
landmark on the Oregon Trail and nearly every one
in passing had inscribed his name on its surface.

For the next few days it rained quite steadily,
which, if it made traveling disagreeable, at least im¬
proved the grass and gave new life to the animals.
On August 6 th the party was in the midst of a rocky
formation, huge walls of granite ranging from three
to five hundred feet in height, bordering the road¬
way. Scraggly pines clung to the sides of the rocks
and all about was "wilderness and disorder.” Fi¬
nally they reached an elevation of seven thousand
feet, but the ascent had been so gradual they were
hardly aware of the climb. Even Carson, who knew
the country well, was forced to keep a sharp look¬
out to ascertain the culminating point. They were
now three hundred and twenty miles from Fort
Laramie and stood at the summit of South Pass.

"It will be seen,” writes Fremont, "that it in no
manner resembles the place to which the term is
usually applied — nothing of the gorge-like charac¬
ter and winding ascents of the Allegheny passes in
America; nothing of the Great St. Bernard and
Simplon Passes in Europe. Approaching it from the
mouth of the Sweetwater, a sandy plain, one hun¬
dred and twenty miles long, conducts, by a gradual
and regular ascent, to the summit, about seven thou¬
sand feet above the sea; and the traveler, without
being reminded of any change by toilsome ascents,
suddenly finds himself on the waters which flow to
the Pacific Ocean.”

They were nine hundred and fifty miles from
the mouth of the Kansas River, their starting point.

FIRST EXPEDITION

43

In after years Fremont was held up to ridicule
for claiming to be the discoverer of South Pass,
whereas he made no such pretension. It was dis¬
covered years before his time and he never so much
as intimated that he was the discoverer. However,
the story was circulated in the hope of belittling
him in the eyes of the world.

Eight miles beyond the Pass the party came to the
Little Sandy, one of the tributaries of the Colorado,
which empties into the Gulf of California. In the
clear, cold mountain air the Lieutenant had a fine
view of the distant peaks gleaming like silver in the
light of dawn. The sight of those ranges roused all
the poetry of his nature and he feasted his eyes on
their solitary grandeur — entranced by the supreme
beauty and majesty of it all.

CHAPTER III

Across the South Pass

The party was soon amid the beautiful streams
of the Wind River Range, where the sublimity of
the scenery caused the Lieutenant to stand in awe
and wonderment as he drank in the beauty of tow¬
ering mountain peaks, glorified by the sun, and of
pine-covered ridges overshadowing glassy pools or
foaming waters. On winding his way up a dark
ravine he came suddenly upon a lake set hke a gem
among the mountains. It was about three miles
long and stretched away, glittering in the sunlight
as if it might be a huge jewel. Its banks were of
yellow sand and covered with a growth of aspen.
It was the headwater of the third New Forks and
Fremont made his main camp near its outlet on the
north side, which was the most western point of his
observations. He gave it the name of Mountain
Lake.

Unfortunately, in crossing a creek, he had broken
his barometer, the only one he had, and the loss de¬
prived him of the means to determine scientifically
the height of the mountains, which had been a sub¬
ject of discussion among frontiersmen for some
time. However, as necessity is the mother of in¬
vention, he set about to repair the instrument and
how he accomplished this is best told in his own
words:

'*The glass cistern had been broken about mid¬
way, but as the instrument had been kept in proper

(44)

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

45

position no air had found its way into the tube, the
end of which had always remained covered. I had
with me a number of vials of tolerably thick glass —
some of which were of the same diameter as the
cistern — and I spent the day in slowly working on
these, endeavoring to cut them of the requisite
length, but as my instrument was a very rough file,
I invariably broke them. A groove was cut in one
of the trees where the barometer was placed during
the night to be out of the way of any possible danger
and in the morning I commenced again. Among
the powder horns in camp I found one which was
very transparent, so that its content could be seen
almost as plainly as through glass. This I boiled and
stretched on a piece of wood to the requisite diam¬
eter and scraped it very thin in order to increase to
the utmost its transparency. I then secured it firmly
in its place on the instrument with strong glue made
from a buffalo, and filled it with mercury properly
heated. A piece of skin which had covered one of
the vials furnished a good pocket which was well
secured with strong thread and glue, and then the
brass cover was screwed to its place. The instru¬
ment was left some time to dry, and when I reversed
it a few hours after I had the satisfaction to find it
in perfect order.”

Fremont was now ready to begin the ascent of
the mountains which are the source of four great
rivers, the Colorado, Columbia, Missouri, and Platte.
The provisions had become very low, the bread be¬
ing entirely gone and their daily fare consisted of
dried buffalo meat cooked in tallow, which was ut¬
terly without flavor. How meager this was can best

46

A MAN UNAFRAID

be appreciated when we consider that the party was
capable of consuming two buffaloes every twenty-
four hours.

They were now in a hostile country where the
utmost vigilance was necessary. Fremont selected
fifteen of his best men for the mountain trip, the
others remaining in camp, which was in charge of
Bernier, one of his most trustworthy men. The
fifteen left early in the morning, being well armed
and mounted on mules. Meantime the camp had
been made Indian-proof by the erection of an im¬
provised fort, with twelve resolute men to keep
guard. The Fremont party were soon among the
rocky defiles of the ranges, enjoying the view of
streams and lakes unknown to trappers of the re¬
gion, picking their way along mountain slopes and
breathing the fragrant odor of the pines.

"It seemed as if, from the vast expanse of unin¬
teresting prairie we had passed over. Nature had
collected all the beauties together in one chosen
place. We were overlooking a deep valley, which
was entirely occupied by three lakes, and from the
brink the surrounding ridges rose precipitously five
hundred and a thousand feet, covered with the dark
green of the balsam pine, relieved on the border of
the lake with the light foliage of the aspen. They
all communicated with each other; and the green of
the waters, common to lakes of great depth, showed
that it would be impossible to cross them. . . . The
air was fragrant with the odor of the pines, and I
realized, this delightful morning, the pleasure of
breathing that mountain air which makes a con¬
stant theme of the hunter’s praise.”

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

47

At intervals they came upon rare plants and flow¬
ers of brilliant colors, all of which was a constant
delight to Fremont. As they continued their climb
more lakes came into their vision — lakes of surpass¬
ing beauty as they lay without a ripple and reflect¬
ing the mountain walls surrounding them. They
were headed toward the highest peak of the range,
and finding the way growing somewhat difficult
the Lieutenant decided to leave the mules in the care
of a few of his men and go the rest of the way on
foot. They took nothing with them but their fire¬
arms and the instruments, some of the men leaving
their coats behind. As is the case in climbing high
mountains, the first ridge usually hides a succession
of others, and the rarefied mountain air makes dis¬
tance very deceiving, consequently the Fremont
party surmounted one ridge only to find another
confronting them. In this way they went on until
they were so fatigued and worn out that the Lieu¬
tenant decided to camp for the night. They had
reached the timber line, and above them were only
naked rocks and patches of snow. According to his
barometrical observations they were ten thousand
feet above the Gulf of Mexico. They had little to
eat and Lajeunesse went in search of game, but re¬
turned without success. Fremont became ill, suf¬
fering from a severe headache and nausea, no doubt
caused by the high altitude. To add to his discom¬
fort a cold wind blew, so the fire gave little relief.
Moreover, they tried to sleep on a granite ledge, but
did not succeed and were glad when the morning
sun laid his great warm hand on their broken and
rugged world. They were astir shortly after day-

48

A MAN UNAFRAID

break and with empty stomachs again began their
climb. Preuss had a bad fall in attempting to walk
on an ice-ledge and turned several somersaults in his
downward plunge, but fortunately escaped with
only a few bruises. Lambert and Descoteaux were
taken ill and the Lieutenant had a bad attack of
giddiness and nausea. Not knowing how far his
strength would carry him, he sent Lajeunesse back
for the mules with the instructions to bring four or
five of the animals to their last camping place, where
he would meet them. Fremont retraced his steps
and in a short time the mules and four men arrived.
They brought a supply of dried meat and some cof¬
fee and in a little while all were feeling better.

The next morning they again attempted to scale
the mountain. This time they went about it in a
more leisurely fashion, going a short distance and
stopping to rest, thus conserving their lung power.
Save for a slight headache, Fremont experienced
none of the disagreeable sensations of the previous
day. By slow stages they gradually worked their
way upward till at length the leader of the expedi¬
tion made one final scramble and gained the sum¬
mit. Immediately below him was a vast snowfield
and a sheer, icy precipice. The crest was so nar¬
row on which he stood that only one man at a time
was permitted to mount it for fear it might give
way. It was a pinnacle with almost a needle point.
Here Fremont fixed a ramrod in the slight aperture
between the rocks and unfurled the Stars and
Stripes. It is safe to say our national emblem was
never flown from a loftier height up to that time.
This occurred on August 1 5 th, and the historic flag

KIT CARSON

The famous scout and pathfinder. A personal friend of Fremont
and whose knowledge of the country, the native Indians and
climate greatly aided Fremont in his explorations.

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

49

which Fremont raised on one of the loftiest, if not
the highest, peaks of the Rockies, can be seen today
in the Southwest Museum of Los Angeles.

On this great eminence there was no sign of ani¬
mal life. No sound broke the stillness. The solitude
was profound. As the men stood there in awe at the
sublime grandeur of the scene it was as though Na¬
ture held her breath in hushed expectancy of some¬
thing about to happen — some tremendous upheaval
or some revelation from the Creator in words of
thunder. Suddenly there was a slight humming
noise and one lone, humble bee came winging its
flight from the east and alighted on the knee of one
of the men. So they were not alone even at this high
elevation, which was found to be thirteen thousand
five hundred and seventy feet above sea level. It
afforded the Lieutenant a wonderful view of the
surrounding country. On one side they overlooked
the springs of the Colorado River and on the other
the Wind River Valley where were the heads of the
Yellowstone branch of the Missouri, while far to
the north could be discerned the snowy peaks where
were the source of the Missouri and the Columbia
rivers. The particular mountain he had climbed
bears the name of Fremont Peak.

In the afternoon the party began the descent and
by the time they had reached the cache the sun had
set and they were obliged to spend the night in a dis¬
agreeable spot, sleeping on a huge rock. Daylight
found them on their way again and at dusk that
evening they Joined the rest of the party, whom
they found had enjoyed a quiet rest. It was a laugh¬
ing, good-natured group that set out on the return

50

A MAN UNAFRAID

trip to civilization. No lives had been lost; there
had been no battles with Indians as had been prophe¬
sied — not even a skirmish — and about the only pri¬
vation suffered was an occasional lack of food.

They left Mountain Lake camp on August 1 6th,
and after passing a "concourse of lakes and rushing
waters, mountains of rocks naked and destitute of
vegetable earth, dells and ravines of the most exqui¬
site beauty, all kept green and fresh by the great
moisture in the air and sown with brilliant flowers,”
they arrived at their camp at Two Buttes on the
way homeward. The only mishap was the breaking
of the barometer for the second time, but as it had
served its purpose the Lieutenant had nothing to
regret from this accident.

While encamped at Rock Independence, Fre¬
mont made in the hard granite the impression of a
large cross, which he covered with a preparation
of india-rubber "well calculated to resist the influ¬
ence of wind and rain.” He meant this as a symbol
of the Christian faith and not of any particular
religious sect, but in his presidential campaign years
afterward it was used against him by those who
wished to make it appear that he was identified with
Catholicism.

In following out his instructions to survey the
Platte River he decided to begin at this point and
accordingly launched his india-rubber boat, taking
with him Preuss and five men. The rest of the party
in charge of Bernier were to proceed by land to a
place designated by the Lieutenant where he was to
join them. This journey by boat proved very haz¬
ardous — in fact, it came near to culminating in a

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

51

tragedy, for in attempting to steer their craft down
a narrow gorge where the water rushed with great
force they lost control of it completely, and Basil
Lajeunesse, thrown into the raging current, owed
his life to his skill as a swimmer. Later, in running
the rapids, the boat was capsized and its contents
strewn on the waters.

*'For a hundred yards below,” says Fremont, "the
current was covered with floating books and boxes,
bales of blankets and scattered articles of clothing;
and so strong and boiling was the stream that even
our heavy instruments, which were all in cases, kept
on the surface, and the sextant, circle, and the long
black box of the telescope were in view at once. For
a moment I felt somewhat disheartened. All our
books — almost every record of the journey — our
journals and registers of astronomical and baromet¬
rical observations — had been lost in a moment. But
it was no time to indulge in regrets; I immediately
set about endeavoring to save something from the
wreck. Making ourselves understood as well as pos¬
sible by signs, for nothing could be heard above the
roar of the waters, we commenced our operations.
Of everything on board the only article that had
been saved was my double-barreled gun, which
Descoteaux had caught and clung to with drown¬
ing tenacity. The men continued down the river
on the left bank. Preuss and myself descended on
the side we were on; and Lajeunesse, with a paddle
in his hand, jumped on the boat alone and continued
down the canyon. She was now light and cleared
every bad place with much less difficulty. In a short
time he was joined by Lambert and the search was

A MAN UNAFRAID

52

continued for about a mile and a half, which was
as far as the boat could proceed in the pass. Here
the walls were about five hundred feet high and the
fragments of rocks from above had choked the river
into a hollow pass but one or two feet above the
surface. Through this and the interstices of the
rock, the water found its way. Favored beyond our
expectations, all of our registers had been recovered
with the exception of one of my journals, which
contained the notes and incidents of travel, topo¬
graphical descriptions, a number of scattered astro¬
nomical observations, principally meridian alti¬
tudes of the sun and our barometrical register west
of Laramie. Fortunately, our other journals con¬
tained duplicates of the most important barometri¬
cal observations which had been taken in the moun¬
tains. These, with a few scattered notes, were all
that had been preserved of our meteorological ob¬
servations. In addition to these we saved the circle,
and these, with a few blankets, constituted every¬
thing that had been rescued from the waters.”

While their loss was to be regretted they, them¬
selves, were in a bad situation, for they had nothing
whatever to eat and no means to provide themselves
with any food, for their guns and ammunition were
gone and they would be at the mercy of any band of
redskins that might come along. With the danger
of starvation facing them they set out in two par¬
ties, Preuss and Fremont keeping to the left side of
the river, and the others to the right. On arriving
at the top of the canyon, having made slow prog¬
ress, Fremont found himself wearing only one moc¬
casin. He was forced every few minutes to stop and

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

53

pull cactus thorns out of the bottom of his foot,
which was a very painful experience. In a short time
they were joined by another of the party, Benoist,
the others having taken a more inland route.

Toward evening they reached a pass in the rocks
called Hot Spring Gate, where Preuss discovered
what he thought a fine cold spring gushing out some
two feet above the river. Heated from his long
tramp he was about to quench his thirst when he
found that the water was very hot. The Lieuten¬
ant had no thermometer to determine the tempera¬
ture of the spring, but he was only able to hold his
hand in the water for two seconds. They arrived at
Goat Island, where the majority of the party were
in camp, to find some pieces of roasted buffalo meat
awaiting them and some dry clothing. Thus termi¬
nated one of the most fatiguing days, Fremont says,
he ever experienced.

Early the next morning Lajeunesse was sent to
the wreck for the articles that had been saved, and
about noon they left the island. On the 26th they
arrived at Cache Camp and found everything as
they had left it; and, traveling a few miles in the
afternoon, camped for the night at the ford of the
Platte, the waters of which were very low.

The quick eyes of the Indians caught their flag as
they wound among the hills near Fort Laramie, and
they were saluted with repeated charges from the
one gun at the fort, and they returned the welcome
with their rifles and pistols. It was in the nature of
a home reception. They had been gone forty-two
days, but had experienced none of the perils the
Indians had described.

54

A MAN UNAFRAID

Continuing their homeward journey down the
Platte they passed innumerable fields of brilliant
flowers in their autumnal splendor, and also came
upon great numbers of rattlesnakes, several of
which were killed during one morning’s ride. They
crossed and recrossed the Platte to suit their con¬
venience, as it was nothing more than a succession
of sand bars, with rivulets running between them.
They recovered their barrel of pork from its burial
place, which proved a valuable addition to their
stock of provisions. It now occurred to Fremont
that he could descend the Platte by boat in that the
water was growing deeper, and accordingly spent
two days in making a "bull boat.” This craft was
constructed of the skins of a number of buffalo
bulls provided by the hunters. It is quite probable
that this idea originated with Carson. The skins
were stretched over a frame made of willow, the
seams being sewed together and covered with ashes
and tallow, after which the boat was left exposed to
the sun for the greater part of a day. With four
men it drew about four inches of water. On the
morning of September 15 th the craft was given a
trial, but it proved more of a sled than a boat, for
it had to be dragged over the numerous sand bars
for miles. At length Fremont gave the matter up as
a bad job; the boat was abandoned and the party
took to their feet and found traveling much more
rapid and satisfactory.

In a few days they reached Grand Island, which
is fifty-two miles long and is described by the Lieu¬
tenant as the best point for a military position on the
lower Platte. On the 22nd they came to the village

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

55

of the Grand Pawnees, where they obtained some
vegetables, and on the 24th they reached the Loup
Fork of the Platte, which is a stream of clear water
some four hundred yards in width and differing in
many respects from the longer river in appearance.

A few days before the Lieutenant had sent Lam¬
bert and two men to Bellevue with directions to the
manager of the American Fur Company at that
place to have his carpenters construct a boat with
which he had planned to make the trip down the
Missouri. He was informed that the boat was near¬
ing completion, and on October ist, "long before
daylight,” he heard the welcome tinkle of cowbells
on the opposite bank and felt that he was again
within the pale of civilization. All the horses, carts,
and camp equipage were sold at Bellevue at public
auction. Fremont continued his sketching and ob¬
serving all the way down the river to St. Louis,
where he arrived on the 17 th of the month. He
reached Washington in due time and found his
family well and eager with anticipation for his
return.

With Mrs. Fremont as his amanuensis, Fremont
now set about preparing his report of the expedi¬
tion. At the suggestion of Mr. Benton a guide book
was prepared for the use of the emigration, together
with maps whereon were indicated the places where
wood and water were to be found. The plants col¬
lected were turned over to Professor Torrey for
classification. It was the first report of a scientific
nature to be made and naturally attracted wide in¬
terest. An extra number of copies were ordered
printed and Senator Linn went on to say in his re-

56

A MAN UNAFRAID

marks concerning the report that it showed a
"beautiful and fertile” country far beyond the
frontier of Missouri, whereas some former explorer
had given an altogether different description of the
region, saying it was mostly desert with a range of
mountains that would always prove a barrier to the
civilization of the West. Fremont in clear, simple
language stated the facts as he saw them and he was
the recipient of many congratulations on his suc¬
cess.

The Senators from Missouri had rejected the Ash¬
burton treaty, which was designed to placate Great
Britain in respect to the Oregon settlement, and in
the President’s message to Congress it was stated
that before any titles to lands should be given to
emigrants in the territory of Oregon the respective
claims of the two governments should be settled.
It must be remembered that at this time a number
of men prominent in Congress held the most absurd
views regarding the Far West. To them the whole
Pacific Coast region was a barren waste — utterly
worthless except as a home for Indians and grizzly
bears. As viewed in the light of the present day the
ignorance of these men was little less than appalling.
But Senator Benton and some of his colleagues had
determined upon a course of action which would
prevent any joint occupation of Oregon as the Eng¬
lish had suggested.

A second expedition, more extensive than the first,
was then discussed by the coterie surrounding Sen¬
ator Benton. Its purpose was to examine the region
lying south of the Columbia, between the Rockies
and the Pacific Ocean. This expedition was to con-

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

57

nect with the other at South Pass, thus giving a
complete survey of the interior and western half
of the continent. The Lieutenant was, of course,
working in conjunction with Senator Benton, whose
one great ambition was to know that the flag of
these United States waved from ocean to ocean.

In the spring of 1843 Fremont left Washington,
traveling in a stage coach and having with him his
wife and the Benton family. The coach was over¬
turned while they were crossing the mountains in
Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Benton was stunned by a
bruise on the head, from which she soon recovered.
However, the accident necessitated a stopover at an
old-fashioned tavern, where the party enjoyed
"buckwheat cakes half an inch thick and maple
syrup from the forest.” Mrs. Fremont planned to
remain in St. Louis until her husband’s return,
which they calculated would be in about eight
months. The Lieutenant engaged six of the men
who had been with him previously, and owing to
his former experience, preparations were made in
short order. From the arsenal at St. Louis Fremont
obtained a howitzer, which he thought would prove
effective should he encounter hostile Indians. He
engaged as guide one of the best men possible,
Thomas Fitzpatrick, who, although a young man,
had a wealth of snow-white hair, the result of a
terrible experience with Blackfeet Indians, in which
battle he was the sole survivor. Maxwell joined the
party at Kaw Landing and Carson at a little Mexi¬
can pueblo on the Arkansas River.

It seems that Fremont had specially requested his
wife to open all letters addressed to him and, as long

58

A MAN UNAFRAID

as he was on the frontier, to forward any that she
considered important. In other words, she was the
confidential secretary. In after years Mrs. Fremont
tells of a rather humorous incident that happened
at this time.

"I was to open mail and to forward to the camp
at Kaw Landing, now Kansas City, and all that in
my judgment required Mr. Fremont’s attention.
One day there came for him an official letter from
his Colonel, the chief of the Topographical Bureau.
It was an order recalling him to Washington,
whither he was directed to return and explain why
he had armed his party with a howitzer, saying that
it was a scientific and not a military expedition and
should not be so armed. I saw at once that this
would make delays which would involve the over¬
throw of great plans and I felt that there was a hid¬
den hand at work. Fortunately my father was ab¬
sent from St. Louis and I could act on my own
instinct. Without telling anyone of the order I put
it away and hurried oflF a messenger to Mr. Fremont
— one of his men, Basil Lajeunesse, who was to join
him with the last things. I feared a duplicate order
might have been sent to the frontier. . . . I charged
Basil to make all haste, for much depended on that
letter. I wrote Mr. Fremont that he must not ask
why, but must start at once, ready or not ready.
The animals could rest and fatten at Bent’s Fort.
Only go! There was a reason, but he could not know
it; my father would take care of everything. And
as we acted together unquestioningly, he did go
immediately. Not until I received the good-by
letter did I write in answer to his Colonel. Then I

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

59

wrote him exactly what I had done. I had grown so
into my father’s purpose that now, when my hus- -
band could be of such large aid in its accomplish¬
ment, I had no hesitation in risking for him all con¬
sequences. Upon this second expedition hinged
great results. It made California known in a way
which roused and enlisted our people and led di¬
rectly to its being acquired during the third expe¬
dition.”

It seems on learning what his daughter had done.
Senator Benton fully endorsed her action and
*'wrote a letter to the department condemning the
recall, repulsing the reprimand which had been lav¬
ished upon Fremont, and demanding a court-mar¬
tial for him when he should return.” Benton laid
the order for the Lieutenant’s return to Washing¬
ton to West Point influence. However this may be,
it was evidently inspired by some ulterior motive —
a great desire to handicap or embarrass Fremont,
whose rise in military rank provoked much jeal¬
ousy. To begin with it was an asinine order, and
doubtless Mrs. Fremont regarded it in this light.
To comply with it meant the loss of several weeks
in getting started and, perhaps, would endanger the
expedition, as no doubt there would be other
charges trumped up that would delay the expedi¬
tion indefinitely. That it was begun without the
sanction of the Topographical Bureau is quite evi¬
dent, the coterie” having sufiicient influence to
put it through. For the Lieutenant to return to
Washington from St. Louis to explain why he had
a howitzer in his possession was manifestly absurd.
With equal propriety and reason he might have re-

6o

A MAN UNAFRAID

ceived orders to return to explain why the party
should bear arms of any kind in that it was a scien¬
tific and not a military expedition. While the how¬
itzer was not worth its weight in provisions it was
looked upon by Fremont as a valuable weapon
should the party be attacked by any number of
Indians, which, of course, might happen. It was
only for this reason that the Lieutenant requested
the use of the gun.

Fremont, himself, regarded the order to return
to Washington, when he learned of it afterward, as
a "flimsy excuse for breaking up the expedition,”
and this it was. Little did Colonel Abert realize that
his order to Fremont, a subordinate, was the one
incident in his career to carry his name down to
posterity. Military orders are much like orders of
any other kind — they should be observed only
when they are not preposterous and do not attain
to the height of extreme absurdity. So far as Fre¬
mont was concerned his action in beginning the ex¬
pedition at once, according to his wife’s instruc¬
tions, involved no insubordination on his part. The
court-martial demanded by Senator Benton was
never called, so it goes to show that there was no
great infraction of military rules. Had a court-
martial been convened its proceedings would have
made good reading in the funny column of a news¬
paper, considering the triviality of the occasion.
However, owing to the foresight and quick discern¬
ment of Jessie Benton Fremont, the expedition was
not broken up as certain ones connected with the
Army might have wished, but went ahead rapidly.
Senator Benton and his colleagues would not permit

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

6i

a little thing like a howitzer to stand in the way of
empire had they known of the incident, and this
the wife of the Lieutenant well knew and acted
accordingly.

The Fremont party, like the one the year previ¬
ous, was composed of Creole and Canadian French,
with a scattering of Americans, not to mention a
free colored man, Jacob Dobson, who had long been
a servant in the Benton family. There were thirty-
nine members in all, and through the Indian Agent,
Major Cummins, he got two Delaware Indians as
hunters. Mr. Talbot of Washington and Mr. Dwight
of Springfield, Massachusetts, were with the party.
They were armed with Hall’s carbines, not to men¬
tion the troublesome howitzer in charge of Zindel,
a German artilleryman. There were twelve carts
drawn by mules and a light spring wagon in which
the various scientific instruments were transported.
The expedition left Kansas City on the 29th of May,
1843.

It was Fremont’s plan to vary his course on this
trip by going up the Kansas River Valley and on to
the source of the Arkansas, where he hoped to find
a pass in the mountains. This would give him addi¬
tional knowledge of the region and possibly prove
a better route to Oregon. In a few days he arrived
at Elm Grove on the Santa Fe trail and found a
party of emigrants bound for California. The cav¬
alcade was under the leadership of J. B. Chiles of
Missouri, who had some machinery with him for a
sawmill which he intended to build on the Sacra¬
mento. Here also was met William Gilpin, bound
for Oregon, of whom it is said he did as much for

62

A MAN UNAFRAID

the West as any other American. He was the first
Governor of Colorado and served as Colonel of Bat¬
talion during the Mexican War.

Fremont followed the Oregon trail as far as the
ford of the Kansas River and, rather than cross this
stream, continued along its south bank over a
beautiful well-watered region of hill and meadow,
through dense groves and over prairie lands robed
with spring flowers of gorgeous color. Once they
met a party of Delaware and Kansas Indians, who
were exceedingly friendly. They were returning
from a hunt and were in good humor, much better
than the band of Osages encountered a few days
later. These redskins, in war paint and wearing red
blankets, appeared in full pursuit of Maxwell, who
had gone in search of a stray horse, and dashed right
into the Fremont caravan, capturing some of the
best horses. The Lieutenant was prepared for just
such an emergency and chased the marauders seven
or eight miles, recapturing the animals.

"This incident,” says Fremont, "which occa¬
sioned delay and trouble and threatened danger and
loss, and broke down some good horses at the start,
and actually endangered the expedition, was the
first fruit of having gentlemen in the company —
very estimable to be sure, but who were not trained
to the care and vigilance and self-dependence which
such an expedition required and who are not subject
to the orders which enforce attention and exer¬
tion.”

On the 8 th of June the party arrived at the
Smoky Hill Fork, the principal southern branch
of the Kansas. This river is classified differently to-

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

63

day than in Fremont’s time. Here they traveled up
the Republican Fork, continuing their journey
through the beautiful rolling country, where they
caught an occasional glimpse of elk and antelope,
but only a glimpse, as the game proved very elusive
owing to the various hunting parties of the Dela¬
ware and Kansas Indians. When they had gone
nearly three hundred miles from the mouth of the
Kansas the road became so difficult and progress so
slow that the Lieutenant decided to divide his party,
leaving Fitzpatrick in charge of twenty-five men,
the provisions and heavier baggage, while he, ac¬
companied by fifteen of the party, went ahead,
taking the howitzer and the light spring wagon.
For a number of days Fremont continued along the
Solomon’s Fork of the Smoky Hill River where he
noted the many flowers and plants.

He crossed Kansas into Nebraska and on the 19 th
of June reports the appearance of prairie dogs and
several buffalo, one of which was killed. The alti¬
tude kept increasing, while the character of the
country changed. There was little fertility and the
landscape became barren, presenting some of the
aspects of a desert. They traveled at an elevation of
about four thousand feet through a sandy, arid sec¬
tion where there was little or no water until, on
June 20th, they found themselves "overlooking a
broad and misty valley, where, about ten miles dis¬
tant and one thousand feet below, the South Fork
of the Platte was rolling magnificently along, swol¬
len with the waters of the melting snows. It was in
strong and refreshing contrast to the parched coun¬
try from which we had just issued; and when, at

64

A MAN UNAFRAID

night, the broad expanse of water grew indistinct it
almost seemed that we had pitched our tents on the
shore of the sea.” From their encampment at the
mouth of Bijou Creek they obtained an excellent
view of Long’s Peak and the adjacent mountains,
which stood out in the sunset light robed in their
garments of glistening snow. On the evening of
July 3 rd in traveling along the overflowed bottoms
of the Platte they were nearly devoured by swarms
of mosquitoes. Here they met a number of Sioux
Indians, who were hungry, as usual, and who were
provided with buffalo meat by Fremont’s hunters.

Arriving at St. Vrain’s on July 4th they were
entertained at dinner and had a royal time in cele¬
brating Independence Day. The Lieutenant had
expected to replenish his larder at this point, but
was disappointed. The fort was in a rather impov¬
erished condition and he was able to obtain only
a small amount of unbolted Mexican flour and some
salt. His horses and mules were not in the best of
condition and he engaged Maxwell to go to Taos
and there to buy a dozen mules, which he was to
load with supplies and deliver to Fremont at a cer¬
tain point on the Arkansas River known as the Fon¬
taine qui Bouille, but now called Fountain Creek,
the site of the present city of Pueblo, Colorado. A
trading post had been established here the previous
year by a number of traders and trappers. While at
St. Vrain’s Fremont discharged one of his men,
Oscar Sarpy, the young man feeling that he was not
cut out for such an active and dangerous life as that
of exploring the West. He was given transportation
to Fort Laramie, where he could go East by a more

•-t

O

3

S 3

H- ^

CA>

3 3

Q S

'1

2 ^
2 °

-. 3“

C/5 <T>

5 ^
2 ^
^ c

o

3

n

O

i-K W
ri- ^

3- Q-
ro

3 ^

o <

C/) 5J

C/5

•s

o

a. ^
c W

c- ^ «
^ C/5

o ^

^ 3
w o

“2. /O

n

n

r-

s >
j >

5’ o

3 g

O

o O

^ r

^ 3

S* o
^ 00
O cf
l-c

s

p O
»n
O

ET o.

3 ^

c/5

§ w
5.2

fo

§■ ^

j H
>-<

3

CM

3“

<T>

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

65

direct route. On July 6th Maxwell started for Taos
on the Rio Grande, which town was the chief trad¬
ing point of the Santa Fe trail.

Fremont continued his journey up the Platte,
passing two abandoned forts, one of which was still
in good condition, and later came to Fort Lancas¬
ter, the trading post of Mr. Lupton. Here was a
regulation farm with all kinds of stock ranging
about on the prairie and poultry of various breeds.
After spending an agreeable hour with Mr. Lupton
the Lieutenant set off in a rainstorm which lasted
until the next morning. The day following the
party came to a large village of Arapahoes consist¬
ing of about one hundred and sixty lodges. The
chiefs extended a most cordial greeting, throwing
their arms around the necks of the men of the party
and embracing them with fervor. The Lieutenant
says it required some skill in horsemanship to keep
the saddle during this ceremony as their American
horses exhibited toward the Indians the same fear
they would have had for a bear or any other wild
animal. He was not able to make the Arapahoes
many presents, explaining to them that these things
were in the custody of "White Hand,” or "Broken
Hand,” as Fitzpatrick was known to them. While
they were disappointed they were still courteous in
their behavior.

That night they camped near the mouth of
Cherry Creek, now within the site of the city of
Denver. This stream is renowned for its variable
rise and fall, sometimes being a mere rivulet and
again a raging flood. During the next day they sur¬
prised a grizzly bear, which sat up and surveyed

66

A MAN UNAFRAID

the men and later made off across the river. When
twenty-one miles from St. Vrain’s Fort they reached
a point on the southern fork of the Platte where the
stream divides into three branches. It was up the
eastern fork that Fremont took his way. Game was
found to be scarce and occasioned some worry, but
Lajeunesse had the good fortune to kill a deer, so
the men did not go hungry. On account of the
scarcity of game the Lieutenant turned eastward in
search of buffalo, following the divide between the
Platte and Arkansas rivers. There was a fresh fall
of snow on Pike’s Peak, the summit of which was
now visible, appearing wonderfully white and beau¬
tiful. Fremont crossed the headwaters of the Kiowa
River and passed the night at Bijou Fork, but he
discovered no buffaloes and continued up the Bijou
Valley to an elevation of seven thousand five hun¬
dred feet, where he found the country well adapted
for agricultural purposes. Today it is one of the
most prosperous regions of the West.

On the 14th of July the Lieutenant camped on
the Arkansas at the mouth of Fountain Creek,
where there was a small settlement and where he
learned that matters were in a bad way at Taos. An
attack had been made on all foreigners, and Max¬
well’s father-in-law had been forced to leave for
Santa Fe. Fremont was greatly worried over Max¬
well as it was considered probable that he would
fall into the hands of the Spanish Utes, who were
reported in the country through which he must
pass. Under the conditions it would appear that the
chance of getting any provisions from Taos was
very slight. However, Kit Carson, the dependable.

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

67

joined the party here and was sent at once down the
Arkansas to Bent’s Fort for some mules. He was to
meet the Lieutenant at St. Vrain’s. A new man,
Charles Townes, was engaged to take the place of
Sarpy and had many of the qualities of a good voya-
geur. A note was left for Maxwell instructing him
to come on to St. Vrain’s, and Fremont proceeded
up Fountain Creek, looking for the "celebrated
springs” from which the Fontaine qui Bouille was
named. These springs are near the foot of Pike’s
Peak.

"On the afternoon of the seventeenth,” writes
Fremont, "we entered among the broken ridges at
the foot of the mountains where the river made
several forks. Leaving the camp to follow slowly,
I rode ahead in the afternoon in search of the
springs. In the meantime the clouds, which had
been gathered all the afternoon over the moun¬
tains, began to roll down their sides; and a storm so
violent burst upon me that it appeared I had entered
the storehouse of thunderstorms. I continued, how¬
ever, to ride along up the river until about sunset
and was beginning to be doubtful of finding the
springs before the next day when I came suddenly
upon a large, smooth rock, about twenty yards in
diameter, where the water from several springs was
boiling and bubbling up in the midst of a white in¬
crustation, with which it had covered a portion of
the rock. As this did not correspond with the de¬
scription given me by the hunters I did not stop to
taste the water, but dismounting, walked a little
way up the river and passing through a narrow
thicket of shrubbery bordering the stream, stepped

68

A MAN UNAFRAID

directly upon a huge white rock at the foot of
which the river, already become a torrent, foamed
along, broken by a small fall. A deer which had
been drinking at the spring was startled by my ap¬
proach and, springing across the river, bounded off
up the mountain. In the upper part of the rock,
which had apparently been formed by deposition,
was a beautiful white basin, overhung by currant
bushes in which the cold, clear water bubbled up,
kept in constant motion by the escaping gas and
overflowing the rock, which it had almost entirely
covered with a smooth crust of glistening white.
I had all day refrained from drinking, reserving
myself for the spring, and as I could not well be
more wet than the rain had already made me I lay
down by the side of the basin and drank heartily
of the delightful water. The spring is situated im¬
mediately at the foot of lofty mountains, beauti¬
fully timbered, which sweep closely around, shut¬
ting up the little valley in a kind of cove. As it was
beginning to grow dark I rode quickly down the
river on which I found the camp a few miles be¬
low.”

Fremont’s excursion into the branches of the
upper Arkansas and the completion of the survey
of the South Fork of the Platte having been accom¬
plished he returned to St. Vrain’s on July 23 rd,
where he found Carson awaiting him with ten
good mules. Fitzpatrick and party were also there
with everything in good order. This intrepid leader
had conserved his food supplies and consequently
there was an abundance of provisions on hand. The
animals had also fared well and had enjoyed a good

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

69

rest. While here Fremont learned that the Chey¬
ennes he had befriended on his previous expedition
had murdered several trappers in the neighboring
mountains, which goes to show that most good In¬
dians are invariably dead. The Indian bears a repu¬
tation for treachery, and while at times he has been
imposed upon by unscrupulous whites, he has cer¬
tain racial characteristics which it would seem he
cannot overcome, and chief among these are cruelty
and intrigue.

Again Fremont decided to divide his party, one
of which, under the guidance of Fitzpatrick, was
to cross the plains to the Laramie River, and taking
the usual emigrant road from there was to meet
the Lieutenant at Fort Hall on the Snake River. As
the Delawares were anxious to return to their
homes, Alexis Godey, a young hunter, was engaged
in their stead. Godey, who was then twenty-five,
was said by Fremont to rank next to Carson in
courage and professional skill, which is high praise
indeed, but which was well substantiated in the
eventful years that followed. Fremont’s plan was
to cross the mountains through the valley of the
Cache a la Poudre River, which would take him to
the head of the Sweetwater and to South Pass.
With him went a Shoshone squaw, who had lost her
husband at Lupton’s Fort and who took this oppor¬
tunity to return to her own people.

The two parties separated on July 26th and be¬
gan their respective journeys. The Lieutenant had
some difficulty in crossing the Platte owing to the
late rains, but struggled through and in a few days
reached the Black Hills, more properly designated

70

A MAN UNAFRAID

as the Laramie Mountains. They found the Cache a
la Poudre to be very swollen and frequent crossings
incurred no little danger. However, in due time
they came out of the mountains and camped for the
night close to the boundary line between Colorado
and Wyoming. Fremont found many plants and
shrubs to excite his interest, among which was the
Yampa Root, prized very highly by the Indians as
an article of food. When some two hundred miles
from St. Vrain’s the party stopped for a day to dry
some buffalo meat. While thus engaged a band of
sixty Indians came storming into camp. They were
Arapahoes and Cheyennes and pretended they had
mistaken Fremont’s men for those of another tribe
with whom they were at war. This was a lame ex¬
cuse, but it was accepted and the usual formalities
of friendship were enacted in which the pipe of
peace was smoked and presents were made.

One afternoon they were very much surprised by
the appearance of a big red ox and gathered around
him as if he had been an old friend. The ox no
doubt had wandered away from some emigrant
train and had fortunately escaped the redskins. Fre¬
mont would not permit him to be killed, preferring
to go hungry for a while longer.

In this section of the country traveling was quite
difficult because of the rank growth of artemisia,
which interfered greatly with the progress of the
light wagon and rendered walking almost impos¬
sible. This shrub is more familiarly known as sage
brush, so nearly every one accustomed to traversing
the Western table-lands knows something of its dis¬
agreeable character.

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

71

After entering the pass of Medicine Butte, where
the elevation was found to be over eight thousand
feet, they continued their way over the high plains
to the west, where buffaloes were discovered, and
where Carson shot a cow much to the delight of the
party. They then traveled toward the North Fork
of the Platte over a country thick with sage brush
growing from four to six feet in height. Aside from
this there were deep ravines and gulches all of which
proved a handicap. During this battle — for such it
was — the carriage lamps were knocked off, a ther¬
mometer broken and several other articles dam¬
aged. After going some distance further on they
came to the river where Fremont went into camp
and proceeded to dry some more buffalo meat.
After a severe struggle in which the shaft of the
gun carriage was broken, they reached the valley of
the Sweetwater and were again on familiar ground.
Here they struck the road leading to Oregon, a
rather broad highway with no sage brush to hinder.
Continuing up the valley they gained an elevation
of seven thousand two hundred feet, a height at¬
tested by the coolness of the air and the white frost
at dawn. They were soon in the vicinity of South
Pass, which is twenty miles in width. On reaching
the dividing ridge barometrical observations were
taken which showed the pass to be seven thousand
four hundred and ninety feet above sea level. From
this point to the mouth of the Columbia is approxi¬
mately one thousand six hundred miles, about mid¬
way between the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean.

From the South Pass the Lieutenant followed the
Sandy, a tributary of the Green River, and camped

72

A MAN UNAFRAID

on its left bank some seventy miles from the pass.
The Green River Valley, in which he now made his
way, was a noted region where the traders and
trappers had gathered in past years. It was here a
number of years before that Kit Carson had en¬
gaged in a memorable duel with a bullying French¬
man named Shuman, whom he wounded in the
wrist, the story of which is told in detail in the biog¬
raphies of this famous scout. The heavily wooded
shores of this stream offered a distinct contrast to
the dry, sandy plateau over which the Fremont
party had traveled. The name Green River had been
given it by the Spaniards, but the Shoshone and
Utah Indians called it the Bitter Root. It is a beau¬
tiful stream to which Fremont refers as the Colo¬
rado of the West. Twenty-six miles of travel
brought the caravan to Black’s Fork of the Green
River, where they camped, and the next few days
found them in an inhospitable region, where the
plants and shrubs were less numerous, though the
sage brush remained to harass them. One of their
mules died owing to insufficient food, and to avoid
delay Carson was sent on to Fort Fiall to arrange
for a small supply of provisions. The weather was
hot, the road dusty and altogether the trip, after
crossing the Green River, was disagreeable.

In following up one of the small tributaries of
that river they arrived at an elevation of over eight
thousand feet, this being a ridge connecting the
Bear River Mountains and the Wind River chain of
the rockies. It is the highest point the road reaches
between the Mississippi and the Pacific. The view
from here showed a very mountainous country seen

ACROSS THE SOUTH PASS

73

dimly through a pall of smoke. The descent on the
western side of the pass was quite steep and the fre¬
quent growth of willows along the roadway sug¬
gested the presence of water, but as there was none
to be found they went on until dark before going
into camp. An hour’s travel the following morn¬
ing brought them to the valley of the Bear River
which empties into Great Salt Lake, around which
the superstition of the trappers had inspired many
wild and impossible tales. Says Fremont:

"We were now entering a region which for us
possessed a strange and extraordinary interest. We
were upon the waters of the famous lake, which
forms a salient point among the remarkable geo¬
graphical features of the country and around which
the vague and superstitious accounts of the trappers
had thrown a delightful obscurity which we antici¬
pated pleasure in dispelling, but which in the mean¬
time left a crowded field for the exercise of our
imagination.”

While Jim Bridget is said to have discovered Great
Salt Lake it appears that little was known of it up to
the time of Fremont’s visit — ^nothing authentic, at
least; so it remained for him to make a scientific
examination of this body of water. It was thought
to have no outlet, but various trappers insisted in
the belief that somewhere on its surface was a ter¬
rible whirlpool, indicating the passage of water
through a subterranean course to the Pacific Ocean.
Many were the conjectures advanced by Fremont’s
men as they discussed it around the camp fire.

Following along the river bank on the well-trav¬
eled road to Oregon they came upon a party of emi-

74

A MAN UNAFRAID

grants, and the Lieutenant noted the fine appear¬
ance of their oxen. A few miles below the mouth
of Thomas’s Fork, one of the river’s larger tribu¬
taries, they encountered a great train of emigrants.
The sight of their many covered wagons stretched
along the river bank, the smoke of the camp fires
curling lazily upward, the children playing hide-
and-seek, while the women busied themselves in
preparing the evening meal, the cattle grazing con¬
tentedly near by, and the general atmosphere of
comfort and serenity that hovered over all, formed
a most pleasant picture and one which Fremont
always remembered. This was the advance guard
of Western civilization, the sturdy pioneers who
crossed to the far waters of the Pacific and there
hewed out a mighty empire with their brawny
hands.

CHAPTER IV

Fremont Becomes ^^The Pathfinder’^

It was the custom of all emigrants to spend a few
days in this locality for the purpose of rest and
recuperation and to refresh their animals before
reaching the upper Columbia — an uninviting re¬
gion where feed was particularly scarce. The next
morning Fremont met two Shoshone Indians, who
told him they came into the valley from the moun¬
tains and that a large village was not far away.
Thinking to purchase some horses from them, the
Lieutenant turned aside and when within a mile of
the Indian encampment a single brave dashed out,
followed by others, until the whole plain was teem¬
ing with mounted redskins, all armed with lances,
bows and arrows, and wearing their war bonnets
from which floated long red streamers. They
charged down upon Fremont with all the appear¬
ance of hostility when they discovered that the flag
he was carrying was not the war emblem of their
old enemy, the Sioux, but that of the United States.
In a few moments an understanding was reached
and the chief invited Fremont to the village where
the object of his visit was made known. He pur¬
chased eight horses, paying for them with knives,
blankets, red and blue cloth, tobacco, etc. Some
roots and seeds were also obtained, among them
being the kooyah or tobacco root, the odor of
which was so repugnant to Preuss as to drive him
out of camp.

(75)

76

A MAN UNAFRAID

Where the Bear River makes its horseshoe turn to
the south are a number of soda springs and the
Fremont party camped at one of these known as
Beer Springs, so named by the trappers on account
of the acid taste of the water and the effervescing
gas. The various springs in this locality were an¬
alyzed by Preuss and it was found that the smell of
the gas gave one a sensation of dizziness and caused
a slight nausea.

The appearance of the country at this point sug¬
gested some volcanic disturbance in ages past. There
were numerous bright-colored stones and curious
rocky formations that elicited Fremont’s attention.
A short distance beyond the Beer Springs the Ore¬
gon trail turned westward, but the Lieutenant did
not follow it, his intention being to make an exami¬
nation of Great Salt Lake. As his food supply was
limited, he sent one of his men to Fort Hall with a
note to Carson requesting him to load a pack horse
with whatever provisions he could obtain and to
endeavor to overtake the party on the river. Two
half -grown calves were picked up, probably strays
from some westbound caravan, and were driven
along as reserve food. Fremont was now in the ter¬
ritory inhabited to a considerable extent by the
Digger Indians who subsist wholly on roots and
seeds, the country being destitute of game.

The Lieutenant was very anxious to reach Great
Salt Lake and bent all his efforts to that end. To¬
gether with Basil Lajeunesse, he made a short trip
down the Bear River in his india-rubber boat, which
had been carried along for use in crossing streams,
but was forced to cache his craft and walk some

"THE PATHFINDER”

77

fifteen miles over a rough broken plain in order to
reach camp. He was visited by a number of Indians
of the Digger tribe, who threw aside their blankets
to show him their emaciated bodies. They were
without game of any kind and could not exchange
the little food they had for the many tempting
things they were offered, saying it would expose
them to temporary starvation. It seems that for¬
merly this region abounded in buffaloes, but these
animals were gradually killed off by the fur com¬
panies. Commenting on the destruction of the buf¬
falo, Fremont says:

"The extraordinary rapidity with which the
buffalo is disappearing from our territories will not
appear surprising when we remember the great
scale on which their destruction is carried on. With
inconsiderable exceptions, the business of the Amer¬
ican trading posts is carried on in their skins; every
year the Indian villages make new lodges for which
the skin of the buffalo furnishes the material; and
in that portion of the country where they are still
found the Indians derive their entire support from
them and slaughter them with a thoughtless and
abominable extravagance. Like the Indians them¬
selves, they have been a characteristic of the great
West and as, like them, they are visibly diminishing,
it will be interesting to throw a backward glance
through the last twenty years and give some ac¬
count of their former distribution through the
country and the limit of their range. The informa¬
tion is derived principally from Mr. Fitzpatrick,
supported by my own personal knowledge and ac¬
quaintance of the country. Our knowledge does not

78

A MAN UNAFRAID

go farther back than the spring of 1824, at which
time the buffaloes were spread in immense numbers
over the Green River and Bear River valleys and
through all the country lying between the Colo¬
rado, or Green River of the Gulf of California and
Lewis’ Fork of Columbia River; the meridian of
Fort Hall then forming the western limit of their
range. The buffaloes then remained for many years
in that country and frequently moved down the
valley of the Columbia on both sides of the river
as far as Fishing Falls. Below this point they never
descended in any numbers. About the year 1834
or 1835 they began to diminish very rapidly and
continued to decrease until 1838 or 1840, when,
with the country we have just described, they en¬
tirely abandoned the waters of the Pacific north of
Lewis’ Fork of the Columbia. At that time the
Flathead Indians were in the habit of finding their
buffaloes on the heads of Salmon River and other
streams of the Columbia, but now they never meet
with them farther west than the three forks of the
Missouri, or the plains of the Yellowstone River.
. . . At any time between the years 1834 and 1836
a traveler might start from any given point, south
or north in the Rocky Mountain range, journeying
by the most direct route to the Missouri River, and
during the whole distance his road would be always
among large bands of buffaloes which would never
be out of his view until he arrived almost in sight of
the abodes of civilization.”

At three o’clock the next morning Basil, with a
few others, was sent back with a cart to get the boat
and returned in the afternoon, bringing with him

"THE PATHFINDER”

79

some meat which the Indians said was bear. They
descended the river for a distance of three miles
when they entered a low, marshy region evidently
bordering on the lake where multitudes of wild
fowl filled the air "with a noise like distant thun¬
der.** That night they enjoyed a delicious supper
of goose, duck, and plover. The next morning
Carson rode into camp, carrying some flour and
other provisions, altogether a light but acceptable
supply. The emigrants arriving at Fort Hall had
depleted the stock of provisions, which were now
very small. Carson reported that Fitzpatrick had
not yet arrived at the fort.

The party now directed its course toward a
mountain some twelve miles distant where Fre¬
mont hoped to gain a fine view of the lake, but the
deepening mud as they advanced forced them to
return to the river and the higher ground at the foot
of the eastern mountains. They continued their
way along the base of the range over a well-beaten
trail, apparently the shore of the lake in the spring.
On reaching Webber *s Fork, where the trail entered
a deep gorge, they turned toward the lake, camping
on this river. Early in the morning they again set
out for the particular butte toward which they had
been traveling, crossing a creek with miry banks.
At length they ascended to the summit of the little
peak and beheld the object of their search — Great
Salt Lake, lying in solitary grandeur.

"I am doubtful,** writes Fremont, "if the follow¬
ers of Balboa felt more enthusiasm when from the
heights of the Andes they saw for the first time the
great Western Ocean.**

8o

A MAN UNAFRAID

In his presidential campaign it is said the above
statement was used to show that he compared him¬
self to Balboa.

For some time the men stood and gazed at the
waters of the lake, for it had in it something of the
sublime. There were several islands to be seen,
though whether or not these were wooded could
not be determined. While they were looking a storm
burst upon the lake, entirely hiding the islands from
view. Preparatory to a trip on this body of water
the Lieutenant found a suitable camp ground and
built a corral for the horses and a small fort for the
men who were to remain. They were in the region
over which the Utes roamed and no telling when
this tribe would make them trouble. Because of the
scarcity of provisions Fremont sent several of his
men to Fort Hall under command of Frangois La-
jeunesse. While it was only a four days’ journey,
the men lost their way, reaching the fort a week
late.

For the voyage on the lake the Lieutenant se¬
lected Carson, Preuss, Bernier, and Basil Lajeunesse.
As his boat was hastily constructed a great deal of
insecurity was felt. According to Fremont it was
to be the first boat expedition ever attempted on
this interior sea, but it is said that four of Ashley’s
men circumnavigated the lake as early as the spring
of 1826. On leaving the river the boat was dragged
for a mile or so over the soft mud in which the men
sank to their knees. A small black ridge on the bot¬
tom showed the dividing line between the fresh and
the salt water, and after crossing this they found
themselves afloat on the inland sea. They felt very

MONTEREY IN 1 846
From an old print.

CALIFORNIA’S FIRST CAPITOL BUILDING
(Restored), Monterey, California.

'THE PATHFINDER”

8i

safe so long as they could touch bottom with their
paddles, but when they thought of the frailty of
their craft with its '*gum cloth distended with air
and with pasted seams” the trip seemed in the nature
of a ticklish experiment. One of the islands closest
to shore was selected as the first to explore and they
headed in its direction. There was a considerable sea
running and the spray that came over the side of
the boat was transformed into a crust of salt in a
few moments. By constant use of the bellows to
keep their craft inflated they made the distance to
the island in a reasonably short time. As they neared
the shore the water became transparent and was a
beautiful bright green in color. A broad beach with
a few big rocks made an easy landing place. On
examining a curious brown formation along the
bluff that rose from the shore they found it to be
composed for a depth of some eight inches of the
skins of worms, which had been washed up by the
waves. These worms are a product of the salt lakes
and are used for food by the Diggers.

The party climbed to the summit of the island,
which was eight hundred feet in height, and from
which they got a magnificent view of the lake, but
even with the aid of a glass they were unable to trace
the shore line. Fremont passed a very interesting
night on the island and took observations for lati¬
tude and longitude. The return trip to the main¬
land was made in the face of a strong wind which
delayed them for several hours. Those in camp had
become worried and fired a shot from the howitzer
to welcome them back. The Lieutenant had a great
desire to extend his explorations of the lake, but on

82

A MAN UNAFRAID

account of the lack of food supplies he was forced
to continue his journey. Preuss and Basil set off on
foot for the camp nine miles distant to bring back
horses for the boat and baggage. They returned
late in the afternoon and the wind had increased to
a raging gale.

Continuing his journey the Lieutenant encoun¬
tered an occasional band of Snake River Indians,
from whom he obtained service berries and various
edible roots, the only thing, he observes, that dis¬
tinguished them from the natives being a cup of
good coffee. The weather at this time was very raw,
a cold wind blowing constantly, and they were
obliged to rely on sage brush for fuel for their camp
fires. They followed the same route up Bear River
that had brought them to the lake and on the 13 th
of September they camped on this stream south of
the canyon called "The Gates.” The day following
the men seemed very much dejected, the food being
low, and Fremont gave them permission to kill a fat
young horse purchased from the Indians, though
neither he nor Preuss would eat of the meat, as to
slaughter a horse seemed to them nothing less than
murder. All the time they were anticipating the
arrival of Fitzpatrick from Fort Hall. A gun was
fired at evening to let him know of their where¬
abouts, but he made no appearance. The next day
they met an Indian on horseback who had killed an
antelope which the Lieutenant bought with a little
powder and some balls.

On the 15 th, while camped on the left bank of
the Roseaux, or Malade, Tabeau arrived with the
news that Fitzpatrick was in camp near by and that

“THE PATHFINDER”

83

he had a fine stock of provisions, including butter,
which was regarded as a great treat. It was a night
of excitement and feasting following a time of hun¬
ger and hardship. In the morning they again fol¬
lowed up the valley for a time when they entered
a long ravine leading to a pass in the mountains and
on to Snake River, or rather to one of its tributaries
called the Pannack. Their way was impeded by a
luxurious growth of sage brush after leaving the
waters of the Bear, this valley being described as
containing excellent soil, sufficient timber and well
adapted to the “grains and grasses suited to such an
elevated region.”

The day following they reached the plains of the
Columbia, which were covered with sage brush as
far as the eye could see and which won for this re¬
gion the name of sage desert. From here the Three
Buttes were visible, to which Fremont refers as “the
little mountains.” Following up the valley of the
Snake River, keeping to the east bank, they crossed
the Portneuf River and the white walls of Fort Hall
came into view. Here Talbot and the others, who
had preceded Fitzpatrick, were in camp near the
post, and here Fremont purchased a few horses and
five oxen, all in good condition. There was a sharp
change in the weather, a sudden drop in tempera¬
ture that brought snow and ice. As winter was ap¬
proaching the Lieutenant decided to send back some
of his men who were not entirely satisfied. Calling
them together he explained that it was his determi¬
nation to continue throughout the next few months
and that he anticipated even greater hardships than
they had so far encountered. It was then that

84

A MAN UNAFRAID

eleven of the men chose to return, including his
"favorite,” Basil Lajeunesse, who, on account of his
family, could go no farther. Fremont very much
regretted this as Basil was regarded as almost invalu¬
able.

Fort Hall was built in 1834, being the first of the
Hudson Bay Company’s forts, and was one of the
important stopping places along the Oregon Trail.
In his report to the government Fremont suggested
that a military post be established here to protect
the emigrants from the warring redman.

On September 22nd the Lieutenant bade adieu to
his late voyageurs and departed from Fort Hall,
following down the Snake River Valley, reaching
on the second day the American Falls, the first of
three beautiful cataracts, the others being Salmon,
or Fishing Falls, and Shoshone Falls, the latter of
exceeding beauty. The road along the river bluffs
was very rough, and when Fremont discovered a
trail leading south up Fall Creek over which wagons
had passed he followed it and found that it was the
route taken by the party he met just outside Kansas
City at Elm Grove, and which was led by Mr. Chiles.
A portion of the party had gone another and a more
southern route under the guidance of Toseph
Walker.

The road which the Lieutenant now traveled led
over a broken, dreary country, covered with sage
brush and full of bowlders and gullies, which
worked a hardship on the animals as well as on the
men. The extensive fields of sage brush gave to the
whole country a forlorn aspect. It is pictured as a
"melancholy and strange looking region — one of

"THE PATHFINDER”

85

fracture and violence and fire.” On October ist the
party camped near several lodges of the Snake In¬
dians, who appeared more jovial than others of their
race. Here they killed an ox they had brought along
which proved something of a pleasant surprise on
being found fat, when he had all the appearance of
an ill-fed animal. They also purchased some dried
salmon from the Indians, who subsist chiefly on this
fish, and who seem to care less for beads and red
paint than their brothers of the Midwest plains, pre¬
ferring useful articles. The Oregon Trail brought
them to a ford of the Snake River in a couple of
days where they had some difficulty, the mules
drawing the howitzer being swept down stream by
the swift current. They were saved from drowning
by cutting the harness. Fremont then brought his
rubber boat into requisition and the baggage was
transported across; in fact, everything, including
the rescued howitzer. The animals were forced to
swim.

In a few days the character of the country was
considerably altered. Much granite appeared and
the sage brush vanished. There were plants of vari¬
ous hues and some green grass. On the 8 th the party
came to Fort Boise, where they were hospitably re¬
ceived by Mr. Payette, who was in charge of the
fort — the property of the Hudson Bay Company.
The main building was constructed of logs and con¬
tained a dining-room and kitchen, while near by
were the store and several sleeping apartments. Mr.
Payette was especially kind to Fremont and his men,
presenting them with some fresh butter and other
luxuries. Their attention was attracted to a number

86

A MAN UNAFRAID

of miserable, half-naked Indians hanging around
the fort. Mr. Payette said they were extremely im¬
provident, making no preparation whatever in the
way of food for the winter time. They were all
right in the summer when the fish were to be had,
but laid by no supply for the remainder of the year,
consequently they were reduced at times to abso¬
lute starvation, resorting in some instances to can¬
nibalism. They were on the same level with dumb
animals, eating everything that crawled or hopped
no matter how repulsive.

The party crossed the Snake River on Octo¬
ber 1 1 th and meeting with two Irishmen, who had
lost their horses and were returning to the fort, sup¬
plied them with food and went on to the Malheur
River, where they arrived about sunset. They next
crossed Birch River and descended to the Snake,
which was their last camp on this stream. The
horses strayed away during the night, possibly in
search of grass, and all but two of them were found.
About nine o’clock an Indian song was heard and
three men of the Cayuse tribe appeared with the
two animals. They belonged to a large band that
had been buffalo hunting in the Rocky Mountains
and were returning home in advance. Fremont
presented them with tobacco and other presents for
their kindness, and they traveled for some time in
his company.

‘‘We were now about to leave the valley of the
great southern branch of the Columbia River,”
writes the Lieutenant, *'to which the absence of
timber and the scarcity of water gives the appear¬
ance of a desert, to enter a mountainous region

"THE PATHFINDER”

87

where the soil is good and in which the face of the
country is covered with nutritious grasses and dense
forest land embracing many varieties of trees, pecu¬
liar to the country, and in which the timber exhib¬
its a luxuriance of growth unknown to the Eastern
part of the continent and to Europe. This moun¬
tainous region connects itself in the southward and
westward with the elevated country belonging to
the Cascade or California range; and, as will be
remarked in the course of the narrative, forms the
eastern limit of the fertile and timbered lands along
the desert and mountainous region included in the
Great Basin — a term which I apply to the interme¬
diate region between the Rocky Mountains and the
next range, containing many lakes with their own
system of rivers and creeks — of which the Great
Salt Lake is the principal and which have no con¬
nection with the ocean or the great rivers that flow
into it. The Great Basin is yet to be adequately
explored.”

They now entered a mountainous section where
grass was found in abundance and the forests were
dense and heavy. They left the Snake River behind
and wound their way among the mountain can¬
yons, following a road that sometimes dwindled to
a mere trail. Their progress, though slow, was pleas¬
ant as compared with the sage desert with its miles
of waterless levels. Wagons frequently overturned
because of the steep grades and the wonder was,
considering the rough and rugged way, that they
managed to get through at all. Following along the
Powder River for some distance they came to the
Grand Ronde, a mountain valley or great circle.

88

A MAN UNAFRAID

It is about twenty miles in diameter and is sur¬
rounded by high and well-wooded mountains. The
party went into camp on one of the branches of the
Grand Ronde River and in two days of travel were
at the foot of the Blue Mountains, which derive their
name from the dark blue of the pines that cover them.
The altitude of this range is said to be eight thousand
six hundred and fifty feet above the sea. The ascent
of this range was made through a pine forest of
"large and stately trees.” Night overtook the party
while on the way up and they were obliged to choose
a camping place where there was no water. How¬
ever, Preuss and Carson volunteered to go in search
of water and taking the rubber bucket, struck off
in the darkness, and after half an hour, during
which they scrambled into a deep ravine and back
again, coffee was made and the men felt greatly
refreshed.

After a few days of hard travel they came to the
western slope of the Blue Mountains, "long spurs of
which, very precipitous on either side, extended
down to the valley, the waters of the mountains
roaring between them.” On the night of Octo¬
ber 22nd they camped in a meadow in view of the
great Nez Perce prairie below. Crossing the head
of the Umatilla River they made their way to the
Walla Walla. Preuss had gone in advance of the
others and did not come into camp that night,
but joined them farther down the river the next
day. They obtained a fine view of Mount Hood,
which was a hundred miles away and lifted its
snowy summit high above the surrounding coun¬
try. Their course was directed down the Walla

"THE PATHFINDER”

89

Walla, and they shortly arrived at the mission of
Doctor Marcus Whitman, which consisted of one
adobe building. Unfortunately Doctor Whitman
was absent, having been called to The Dalles, but
there were a number of men and women about,
who, for lack of flour, fed the party on potatoes.
The reader will probably recall the "Whitman tra¬
dition” in which it is claimed that the noted mis¬
sionary once made a famous ride to Washington for
the purpose of "saving Oregon.” But the facts go
to prove that this claim to his having saved Oregon
was not advanced until some twenty-one years after
the ride occurred. An outbreak of smallpox among
the Indians was laid to the missionaries, and about
three years after Fremont’s visit the Cayuses mur¬
dered Doctor and Mrs. Whitman and several others
at the mission.

A large encampment of Nez Perce Indians gave
to the place a populous appearance, and there were
also a number of emigrants resting here. On the
26th of October they arrived at Nez Perce Fort, a
Hudson Bay post, where the Walla Walla empties
into the Columbia and near to the present town of
Wallula. Mr. McKinlay, the commander of the
fort, extended to the party a warm welcome, in¬
viting them to dinner. Here the Lieutenant met a
number of emigrants, among them Mr. Applegate,
afterward a prominent citizen of Southern Oregon,
who was building a number of boats in which to
transport people down the Columbia.

The end of October found the party traveling
down the south bank of the Columbia with Mount
Hood and Mount St. Helens always in their range

90

A MAN UNAFRAID

of vision. The Columbia had now reached a width
of nearly seventeen hundred feet and rolled along
between sheer, picturesque bluffs. Once they were
forced to make a detour on account of the high
banks and forded the John Day River, so named
after a member of the Hunt expedition of i8ii.
They crossed the Fall, or Deschutes River, at the
regular ford and found the water far too deep for
the howitzer. The Indians met with appeared quite
friendly, but with Indians one never knows. These
natives were "disagreeably dirty in their habits” as
compared with those of the plains. Fremont was
particularly struck by their slovenly appearance
and the general dirt and squalor of their habitations.

An interesting feature of the day of Novem¬
ber 4th was the arrival of the party at The Dalles.
Here the waters of the Columbia pass through a
deep gorge, the walls being about twenty-five feet
in height and the river some fifty yards in width.
Applegate attempted to run his boats through this
narrow passage, but one of them was capsized and
two of his children were drowned. There was quite
a settlement at The Dalles — a mission and several
buildings, together with a number of acres of culti¬
vated land. At the Methodist Mission, four miles
below The Dalles, a large canoe was purchased from
the Indians, Fremont having decided to make the
journey to Vancouver by water. He sent back word
to Fitzpatrick to leave the carts at Whitman’s and
with the packs to meet him at The Dalles, whence
he would start for home. Carson was to remain at
The Dalles to superintend the making of pack sad¬
dles, while the Lieutenant took with him Preuss,

"THE PATHFINDER”

91

Bernier, and Dodson. The trip down to Vancouver
was for the purpose of uniting his survey with that
of Captain Wilkes.

The canoe was manned by three Indians, and
most of the journey was made at night because of
the strong winds that prevail during the day. Where
the Columbia passes through the Coast Range there
is a succession of rapids called the Cascades, where
navigation is impossible, and where a portage was
made with the assistance of other Indians. Emi¬
grant camps were seen along the river banks from
time to time — ^parties waiting for friends from
above or for provisions from Vancouver. Once
there was heard the merry song of a sawmill as it
floated in from the wooded shores, and it recalled
pleasant memories. At such a time and in such a
region the song of a sawmill is as divine music to
the ear.

It was near midnight when the party arrived at
Fort Vancouver. The following morning Fremont
called on the ofiicer in charge. Doctor McLoughlin,
who was also director-in-chief of all the Hudson
Bay Company posts west of the Rockies. It was
Doctor McLoughlin who objected to certain meth¬
ods of this company as they affected American in¬
terests, and had trouble with them, afterward re¬
signing his position to become a citizen of the
United States. Fremont purchased supplies on gov¬
ernment orders, and Doctor McLoughlin arranged
for their transportation to The Dalles. The man¬
ager of Fort Vancouver was a sympathetic, broad¬
minded man, who was most kind to all of the emi¬
grants, and who was violently opposed to trading

92

A MAN UNAFRAID

whisky to the Indians. The fort was thoroughly
supplied with everything that heart could wish,
even to an apothecary shop. The buildings were
roomy, covering about four acres, and the only
arms in evidence were two old cannon. In connec¬
tion with the fort was a farm where all kinds of
fruits and vegetables were raised, while a sawmill
turned out three thousand feet of lumber a day.
The various implements used by the trappers were
manufactured at the fort.

After spending two days here the Lieutenant was
ready to return to The Dalles, though he was desir¬
ous of continuing down the river to the ocean. His
intention was now to return home by way of Kla¬
math Lake and to explore the Great Basin between
the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. More¬
over, he was anxious to discover the whereabouts
of the Buenaventura River which Doctor Mc-
Loughlin believed in, a conjectural map of which
he showed to Fremont. He could have gone on
to Bent’s Fort over the Oregon Trail, but the
thought of the Buenaventura was uppermost in his
mind. His return to The Dalles was not so pleasant
as the trip down to Vancouver, for it began to rain,
which made canoe riding very disagreeable. At the
portages the party had a laborious time with their
various craft and here they met a number of emi¬
grants, some of whom were almost destitute, the
children without shoes or sufficient clothing.

At this time two of the great mountain peaks of
the Northwest were in action — Mount St. Helens
and Mount Rainier. The previous year the former
peak had scattered its ashes over The Dalles fifty

"THE PATHFINDER”

93

miles distant. It has been many years since any
show of volcanic action has been observed among
these mountains, though at times clouds of steam
issue from the crater on the summit of Rainier, but
aside from this these peaks have remained singu¬
larly quiet.

On arriving at The Dalles Fremont found that
Carson had moved the camp a little nearer to the
hills where the grass was better. He found every¬
thing in good order and was especially pleased to
find a roast of California beef awaiting him. The
camp was busy with preparations for the home
journey, "though homeward, contemplated a new
route and a great circuit to the south and south¬
east.” Says Fremont:

"Three principal objects were indicated by re¬
ports, or by maps, as being on this route; the char¬
acter or existence of which I wished to ascertain
and which I assumed as landmarks or leading points
on the projected line of return. The first of these
points was the Klamath Lake on the table-land be¬
tween the head of Fall River, which comes to the
Columbia, and the Sacramento, which goes to the
Bay of San Francisco, and from which lake a river
of the same name makes its way westwardly direct
to the ocean. . . . From this lake our course was in¬
tended to be southeast to a reported lake called
Mary’s, at some days’ journey in the Big Basin; and
thence, still on southeast, to the reported Buena¬
ventura River, which has had a place in so many
maps and countenanced the belief of the existence
of a great river flowing from the Rocky Mountains
to the bay of San Francisco. From the Buenaven-

94

A MAN UNAFRAID

tura the next point was intended to be in that sec¬
tion of the Rocky Mountains which includes the
heads of the Arkansas River and of the opposite
waters of the California Gulf, and thence down the
Arkansas to Bent’s Fort and home.”

We now see the Lieutenant’s contemplated line
of travel and will also see why he deviated from this
route on account of unforeseen circumstances. He
provided his party with provisions enough to last
three months and obtained from the mission some
California cattle which were to be driven along.
In all he had one hundred and four mules and
horses with which to begin the journey. There were
twenty men of various nationalities, most of them
being under twenty-one years, just the age to enjoy
an exploring trip and to endure the severest priva¬
tions and hardships. As guides to Klamath Lake
two Indians were engaged and a Siwash boy of nine¬
teen, who expressed a desire to "see the whites,” was
taken along with the promise that he should be re¬
turned to his friends of the Columbia. The wagon
in which the instruments had been carried was pre¬
sented to the mission, the howitzer being the only
wheeled vehicle to provide vexation for the men
of the expedition.

The start was made on November 25 th and there
was snow in the air, also on the ground. As they
passed out of the river valley they found grass in
abundance and they made camp on a branch of
the stream they had followed, now called Eight
Mile Creek. Two Indians, accompanying the party
for a time, were caught stealing and were tied with
ropes and laid before the fire, which seemed to prove

"THE PATHFINDER”

95

effective punishment. In the morning they had a
fine view of St. Helens and Rainier, the latter
'^leading the eye far up into the sky.” It seems un¬
fortunate at this time that Fremont should have
concluded his observations with a survey of the
Columbia region when there were so many points
of interest in the then unexplored country border¬
ing on Puget Sound. Mount Rainier, which he saw
at a considerable distance, and which is the king
of northwest peaks, would have thrilled him with
its beauty and majesty. We can think of no more
beautiful sight than this mountain at sunset when
its mantle of snow is rose-colored in the light of the
dying sun, or when just before daybreak its
mighty bulk stands sharply etched against the
broad, gold gates of dawn.

The mornings grew colder as they resumed their
journey; the streams were frozen over and they had
to cut holes in the ice for the animals to drink. How¬
ever, he found the country far more interesting
than that along the Snake or Columbia River. To
the right of them were the mountains always in
view with the snow peaks rising from the pine-clad
ridges like giant sentinels. Their trail led through a
region of mountain and plain, where rivers and
creeks were numerous and meadows alternated with
forests of pine, and where the song of waterfalls
filled the air with music. The beauty of the scenery
was most impressive and from an elevated plain
Fremont could see six mountain peaks towering up
into the sky. Little did he think that one day this
land of supreme beauty would become the play¬
ground of the Northwest, a country to lure vaca-

96

A MAN UNAFRAID

tionists from all parts of the world. The poetry in
his nature responded to these scenes of exquisite
and magnificent beauty, every new turn of the trail
revealing to him some soul inspiring glimpse of
nature’s grandeur.

On December ist, while fording a stream, one
of the mules fell and gave his pack a thorough soak¬
ing, thus turning the sugar it contained into syrup.
That night they camped near a family of Nez
Perces, who had a handsome horse which Fremont
tried to purchase by trading them a cow, but the
Indians were too fond of the horse to make the
exchange.

On the yth they left the last branch of the De¬
schutes, orFallRiver, and continued along the Indian
trail, "a little east of south and constantly through
pine forests.” At times they found the grass to be
scarce, while the soil lacked fertility. After travers¬
ing this heavily wooded country for several days
the party came at length to a big marsh covered
with grass and rushes which the Indians claimed
was Klamath Lake. The Lieutenant’s guides should
have known better. This was Klamath Marsh, the
lake being some thirty miles farther south. As there
was no water to be seen, how Fremont could have
believed this marsh to be Klamath Lake is incom¬
prehensible. But he seems to have taken it for
granted and asked no questions, nor attempted to
make any further explorations to satisfy himself
as to the reliability of his guides. However, he exer¬
cised extreme caution as the Klamaths were known
to be hostile and possessed remarkable courage and
daring. He could see smoke rising from the middle

COMMODORE ROBERT FIELD STOCKTON

In command of the U. S. S. Congress during the conquest of Cali¬
fornia. Military Governor of California, July 19, 1846, to

January 19, 1847.

"THE PATHFINDER”

97

of this marsh land and ordered the howitzer to be
fired, which amazed the guides, and the report of
which caused the smoke to vanish. The party
camped on a pine-covered point, which ran out into
the marsh, and which afforded security for the
horses and at the same time gave the men an excel¬
lent view of their surroundings.

As the Indians in the lowlands made no appear¬
ance, Fremont determined to pay them a visit with
a guide to take the lead, and mounting their horses
the party went forth. When within half a mile of
the village they could see the huts of the Indians
and, also, observed two of the tribe advancing to
meet them. The two proved to be the chief, a man
of prepossessing appearance, and his squaw, who
had come out to meet their fate together. The Lieu¬
tenant remarked the singularly soft and agreeable
voice of the chief and his handsome features.

The houses of these Indians were near the bank of
the river, "large round huts, perhaps twenty feet in
diameter, with rounded tops on which was the door
by which they descended into the interior.” Their
chief weapon was the bow and arrow, which is
very effective at a distance not exceeding one hun¬
dred yards. These Indians were apparently living
on dried fish, scores of which were suspended on
strings about the huts. They wore shoes made from
rushes, and had mats of the same material, several
of which were purchased to put under blankets in
snowy weather, or use as tablecloths should occa¬
sion require. Fremont bought a puppy to add to
his collection of animals, which he named Klamath.
He mentions that the language spoken by this tribe

98

A MAN UNAFRAID

differs from that of the Shoshone or the Columbia
River Indians. They gave him to understand they
were at war with the Modocs, who lived to the south
of them, yet strange to say the Modocs were nearest
of kin to the Klamaths and spoke nearly the same
tongue. However, the former possessed a more de¬
termined spirit and were great warriors. None of
the men of the party were able to understand the
Klamaths and conversed with them by signs, so the
Lieutenant was not able to gain any information
from them in regard to the region he was about to
enter. All he could do was to rely upon the maps
in his possession, and, as events proved, these maps
were made by some one with an overwrought imagi¬
nation.

In order to recruit his horses he remained here
for a day where the grass was so luxurious and the
water excellent. He then took an eastward course
"across the intervening desert to the banks of the
Buenaventura, where in the softer climate of a more
southern latitude” they would be sheltered from
the rigors of winter. He had counted on the Buena¬
ventura as an excellent place for a military fort in
case of trouble with Mexico. He had many pleas¬
ant dreams of seeing this mythical river, which tra¬
dition had painted in such glowing colors. The
guides that had conducted them thus far were now
returning to their homes on the Columbia and it
was impossible for Fremont to get any others in
their stead. The chief of the Klamaths to whom he
applied pleaded the lack of horses, sickness in his
family, snow in the mountains, and a dozen other
excuses for not furnishing a guide for the party, so

"THE PATHFINDER”

99

it was here that the Lieutenant became in reality
"the pathfinder.”

The morning he prepared to leave the camp was
crowded with Indians and he was constantly on his
guard, knowing them to be treacherous and having
in mind the experience of Jedediah Smith in the
same locality, when some fifteen of his party lost
their lives at the hands of these aborigines. Snow
was falling when the expedition left Klamath Marsh
and headed east. The thermometer stood at zero the
next morning and after following up a hollow
formed by an affluent of the lake they entered a pine
forest on the mountain, where the snow was from
four to twelve inches in depth, and where the way
was obstructed by fallen trees. It was laborious
traveling at best, particularly with a howitzer to
drag along with the aid of mules, which animals
certainly deserve sympathy. In the midst of the
forest they heard sounds as of horses’ hoofs and in
a few moments the chief of the Klamaths and sev¬
eral others of the tribe rode up and offered to pilot
the party for a day or so. The chief in thinking it
over decided that it was quite inhospitable to allow
strangers to depart without accompanying them
at least for some distance.

Continuing in an easterly direction for several
hours they came to a broad stream and on the advice
of their guides camped for the night. The stream
was "tributary to the lake and headwater of the
Klamath.” On December 14th the caravan went
on for seven hours, finding the snow rather deep
and increasing in depth every minute. That eve¬
ning the Indians, becoming thoroughly chilled, an-

lOO

A MAN UNAFRAID

nounced their intention of returning. The party
had now arrived at another stream and the
Klamaths drew a map on the ground indicating the
direction in which this stream flowed and where it
became a great river. Judging by their description
Fremont concluded it must be the headwater of the
Sacramento, but in this he was mistaken.

In the morning his guides were given presents and
departed, while he continued on his northeasterly
course, crossing the stream and a grass-covered
plain, once more entering the big timber and climb¬
ing upward in the snow. For hours they labored
on the mountainside and at length camped in an
open space among the trees where there was a little
bunch grass for the animals. Here a cow that had
been driven along was killed to allay the hunger
of the men and was found to be rather tough. The
next day brought severe hardships. The snow was
three feet deep and the crusts cut the feet and legs
of the animals as they walked. They toiled up the
mountains through the falling snow which weighed
down the pine boughs above them and caused a
profound silence throughout the vast motionless
wood, which was solemly beautiful and impressive.
Winter in the forest changes its entire aspect, the
"careless carpentry of snow” giving to objects a
most fantastic appearance, the trees wearing hoods
and gowns of strange design and everything assum¬
ing a ghostly look and seeming decidedly unreal.
Toward noon the woods became more open and
suddenly they reached a place where no more trees
could be seen ahead. The Lieutenant soon found
himself on the brink of a vertical and rocky wall

"THE PATHFINDER”

lor

of the mountain from which eminence he could see,
a thousand feet below, a green prairie and an allur¬
ing lake about twenty miles in length. Its shores
were bordered with grass and clumps of willows.
At that moment the sun broke through the clouds,
illuminating the landscape below, while around
them a storm raged with unabated fury. The sight
of the glorious sunshine heartened the members of
the party and they made the woods ring with their
shouts of delight. Standing in the deep snow and
facing a cold north wind the names of Winter Ridge
and Summer Lake suggested themselves to Fremont
and as such they appear on the maps of today. As
viewed from the elevation on which they stood the
country to the east had the appearance of a desert
being rocky and covered with sage brush. It was
the beginning of the Great Basin where water was
not to be found. It was bounded on the east by the
Bear River range and on the west by the Sierra
Nevada. Some months before Fremont had touched
its eastern edge at Great Salt Lake.

In descending from this mountain wall it was
found not to be an easy matter, the party traveHng
along the verge of the precipice for four or five
miles in a northerly direction before they could find
a place to make the descent, and then only with the
utmost difficulty. One of the mules took a tumble,
turning over several times, but did no damage to
himself, though the same could not be said of his
pack. The howitzer was left midway on the moun¬
tain until the next morning. It was unfortunate
that it was not left indefinitely. About noon they
broke camp on the western side of the lake and took

102

A MAN UNAFRAID

up an Indian trail along its borders. While a creek
here and there afforded them good drinking water,
much of it was very poor, having a fetid, salty
taste.

On the 20th they came to the south end of an¬
other lake which the Lieutenant named Lake Abert
in honor of the chief of the Topographical Corps.
This body of water was about twenty miles long
and was found to be salty. The party really suffered
for a few swallows of good pure water. Holes were
dug near the shore in the hope of getting some, but
a poor quality was all that could be obtained. That
night they went to bed supperless, and after a two-
hour march the day following came to a pure, cold
spring near the lake, where there was also a sprin¬
kling of rather coarse grass, which the hungry ani¬
mals ate with avidity. There were flocks of ducks
on the lake and the tracks of Indians were seen on
the shore where the grass had recently been burned
by their fires. Fremont remained here a day to
give the animals a rest and the next morning he left
this "forbidding lake” and bore off to the south
across a plain covered with an extensive growth of
sage brush. Coming to a smaller lake on Decem¬
ber 24th he went into camp, where on Christmas
morning he was awakened by the shots of pistols
and rifles and a few from the howitzer in celebration
of the day. Here the party enjoyed something of a
feast, having a small portion of brandy and some
coffee with sugar, which was regarded as a special
favor. Resuming the journey on Christmas Day,
the Lieutenant attempted an excursion to the east,
but finding such a course impossible, took a south-

"THE PATHFINDER”

103

erly route, once more getting into rank fields of
sage brush. Indian tracks around their camp and a
horse that was missing in the morning let them
know they were followed, though the marauders
kept strictly out of sight. For several days they
passed over a wild and desolate region, at times
finding good camping spots with plenty of water
and again, as they ascended the foothills to a higher
elevation, patches of snow and colder weather.

On one occasion they were surprised to find in
the sage brush two huts to which they were at¬
tracted by the smoke rising from them, and which
seemed to have just been deserted. A sage fire was
burning in the middle of one and a few baskets of
straw were lying about. On looking around the
men saw several Indians on the crest of some high
rocks near by and others climbing up. Carson and
Godey rode toward them, but they scampered off as
fast as they could. Then it was discovered that a
squaw with two children had dropped behind a
clump of brush near the huts, Carson almost riding
over her. She was so frightened she screamed lustily
and closed her eyes to blot out the vision of the
white men. She was brought to the camp, where
presents were given her and finally she became calm
enough to enter into conversation with the men.
She belonged to the Snake tribe and spoke their
language.

"Herding together among the bushes and crouch¬
ing almost naked over a little sage brush fire,” says
Fremont, "using their instinct only to procure food,
these may be considered among human beings the
nearest approach to the mere animal creation. We

104

A MAN UNAFRAID

have reason to believe that these had never before
seen the face of a white man.”

The country continued broken and uninviting
with occasional patches of bunch grass and groves
of willows. For a time they followed a small creek,
which was thought to lead to Mary’s Lake. It was
a pleasant little valley through which they trav¬
eled and which gave promise of a better country
ahead, but their hopes were dashed when they found
that it opened into another desolate desert basin
where water was obtained only by cutting ice in a
stream on which they camped on New Year’s Eve,
1843.

Fremont was somewhat discouraged. The whole
region presented an inhospitable aspect. What wa¬
ter there was the men could scarcely drink. The
horses’ feet were cut by the sharp rocks and a num¬
ber of them were so lame they could hardly walk.
It was gullies and sand hills, fields of sage brush,
deep ravines, rocky ridges, low lying swales, salt
lakes and creeks with nauseating water, pinnacles of
volcanic rock, miles of waterless plains — in fact, a
region to discourage the most determined explorer.
Some of the mules gave out entirely, and a horse
that had come all the way from the "States” was
left behind. New Year’s Day found the party filled
with gloomy forebodings as to the future. They
struggled on down a valley with a black ridge on
the left and a higher one on the right, tramping
through fine, powdery sand covered with a saline
efflorescence, with faces set toward a black ledge at
the foot of which steam indicated the presence of hot
springs. The hills had a burnt appearance as though

"THE PATHFINDER”

105

they had been heated in a blacksmith’s forge. They
camped without water or grass in sage brush cov¬
ered with snow and for several days marched on
through a fog unable to see over a hundred yards
ahead. On January 3rd the men sent out to round
up the horses became bewildered and were lost for
a time, delaying the party from starting on their
customary hour. Fremont was evidently worried
over the situation. He writes as follows:

"We had reached and run over the position
where according to the best maps in my possession
we should have found Mary’s Lake or river. We
were evidently on the edge of the desert which had
been reported to us, and the appearance of the coun¬
try was so forbidding that I was afraid to enter it
and determined to bear away to the southward,
keeping close along the mountains in the full expec¬
tation of reaching the Buenaventura River.”

The Lieutenant now ordered all his men to walk,
he himself setting the example. This was done to
lighten the burdens of the weary animals and thus
he continued on his way through the dense fog.
One morning a mule came into camp and died as it
lay down beside the fire. The condition of the ani¬
mals caused the greatest anxiety. Taplin, one of the
best of the men, climbed a mountain near by and dis¬
covered that the sun was shining brightly, while the
plain below was completely obscured by fog. Fre¬
mont and Preuss also ascended the mountain as they
wished to gain some knowledge of their surround¬
ings. In the meantime Fitzpatrick was to explore
in the vicinity of the camp. The fog beginning to
disappear, the Lieutenant saw a column of steam

io6

A MAN UNAFRAID

rising about sixteen miles to the west and toward
this the men made their way through mud and sand.
It was found that the largest hot spring had a cir¬
cumference of several hundred feet with a space at
one end of about fifteen feet in diameter where the
water boiled up intermittently with a great sound.
Some grass grew in the neighborhood of the springs
and the place offered a distinct relief from the dreary
waste over which they had just passed.

Since leaving The Dalles Fremont had lost fifteen
of his animals and with this in view he learned that
he must proceed with caution. Accordingly he de¬
cided to explore the country twenty miles ahead
and to move camp whenever a suitable place was
found. Accompanied by Carson and Godey he
went in advance, leaving Preuss to do some sketch¬
ing and Fitzpatrick to hunt for grass in the prox¬
imity of camp. The Lieutenant and his two com¬
panions followed an Indian trail that skirted Mud
Lake, where at the lower end they found a grassy
hollow and left a signal for the party following to
make camp at this place. They then continued up
the hollow and after a climb of several miles were
astonished when they looked down and beheld, some
two thousand feet below, a vast expanse of green
water, about twenty miles wide, which broke upon
their eyes "like an ocean.” The waves were curling
in the breeze and the explorers were charmed as
they looked upon the water dancing in the sun¬
light. Fremont thought at first that he had found
Mary’s Lake, but its description did not coincide
with this lake so he "concluded it must be some
unknown body of water, which it afterward proved

"THE PATHFINDER”

107

to be.” The day following, the whole party camped
here. The lake was a favorite place of the Indians.
The water, though slightly salty, was still very
palatable. The next day they pursued their way
along the east shore of the lake, following a well-
beaten trail which skirted the base of the mountains
and, at times, was so very narrow that the howitzer
could not pass owing to a storm on the lake which
caused the waves to break five or six feet high along
the strip of beach where the trail led. The howitzer
was left behind temporarily until the storm sub¬
sided. After traveling nine miles more they camped
opposite to a huge rock rising out of the water to a
height of six hundred feet and which they had ob¬
served for many miles. It so reminded the Lieuten¬
ant of the Pyramid of Cheops that he named the
body of water Pyramid Lake, a name it retains to
the present hour. Maps of today show it to be in
Western Nevada. Its elevation, as determined by
Fremont, is eight thousand four hundred and ninety
feet. It is seven hundred feet higher than Great Salt
Lake. Here the last of their cattle were killed and
were found to be in good condition, considering the
scarcity of food for several weeks past. Some Indians
put in an appearance who were scantily clad, one of
them wearing only a tunic of rabbit skins. They
spoke a dialect of the Snake tongue and informed
Fremont that there was a river at the end of the
lake and that they lived in the rocks near by. The
men were unable to understand whether the river
ran into the lake or out of it and "there still re¬
mained a chance that this might be Mary’s Lake.”
It may be said that the river was the Truckee.

io8

A MAN UNAFRAID

Taking the Indian for a guide they arrived in the
afternoon at a large grove of cottonwood, where
they met four other aborigines and had an explana¬
tory conversation in signs. They moved on toward
the Indian village together and discovered the inlet
of a large fresh water stream, being now satisfied
that the lake was not Mary’s or the waters of the
Sacramento, but a large interior lake that had been
found, about thirty-five miles in length. Of the
Indians they purchased some salmon trout, a wel¬
come addition to their food supply. These fish were
from two to three feet in length and of a superior
quality. The party reveled in them much to the
delight of the Indians, who brought into camp a
great number; in fact, more than could be used.
The Indians soon crowded into camp, all armed
with bows and arrows, and after some unsatisfac¬
tory demonstrations they were told they would not
be allowed to come armed. A strict watch was kept
of the horses and a third of the men were on guard
at night. They were not to be caught napping.
From these Indians Fremont got a little information
in regard to the country. The river on which they
camped was said to come from another lake three
or four days’ travel to the southwest, beyond which
were two rivers where white men lived. He tried
without success to engage some of them as guides,
but they only ^'looked at each other and laughed.”

On January i6th the party continued along the
stream which the Lieutenant called the Salmon
Trout River, but which is now known as the
Truckee. Cottonwoods were numerous, and the
Sierra, snow-crowned, loomed over them to the

"THE PATHFINDER”

109

right. In eighteen miles they camped on the river,
not very far from where the town of Reno now
stands. Every hour Fremont expected to come upon
the renowned Buenaventura, which loomed large in
his imagination. On each stream they came to
Carson looked for beaver cuttings which he "main¬
tained they should find only on waters that ran to
the Pacific.” In about twenty miles they reached
another river of good size flowing from the moun¬
tains to the west. It contained no beaver cuttings,
however, so this could not be the river which was
the object of their search. This stream is now called
Carson River, and the day following they traversed
its banks for several hours "hoping it would prove a
branch of the Buenaventura.” A short period of
reconnaissance developed nothing new, and in mak¬
ing an examination of the horses and mules and
finding that many of them were lame and footsore,
Fremont concluded that it would be futile to at¬
tempt an eastward march toward the Rockies.

After much deliberation he gave up the idea of
continuing farther in the Great Basin in his hunt
for the mystical river and instead to cross the Sierra
to the Sacramento Valley, wherever a pass through
the mountains could be found. Of course he had
not entirely given up the idea of finding the Buena¬
ventura. It was still uppermost in his mind, and no
doubt both Carson and Godey believed in its ex¬
istence. To cross the Sierra Nevada in winter was
a most serious undertaking. Perhaps it would have
been wiser to wait on the Truckee until spring
where there was fish a-plenty, and where the ani¬
mals would have enjoyed the best of feed. To re-

no

A MAN UNAFRAID

main here would seem the practical thing to do, but
the Lieutenant decided otherwise. What impelled
him to fare forth in the face of a seeming impassable
barrier in the snows and storms of winter cannot
be explained, though it was doubtless due to a nerv¬
ous energy, a desire to struggle with the elements
and to triumph over them. Regardless of what his
reason for attempting the journey may have been,
he set his face resolutely toward the Sierra, which
was one of the most daring acts in the courageous
career of John Charles Fremont.

CHAPTER V

Across the Sierra Nevada in Midwinter

While occasional trappers had been in the Sierra
Nevada Mountains, the Lieutenant was the first
man of science to cross them and to give to the
world authentic information regarding the region.
These peaks rise to an average height of ten thou¬
sand feet and at that time formed for hundreds of
miles a snowy barrier against emigration from the
East. The passes in the mountains were few — in
fact, it was an unknown and unexplored land —
and to discover a practical route across them was
probably the chief aim of Fremont, aside from
learning conditions over the range in California,
where citizens of the United States were not sup¬
posed to go, and to ascertain the attitude of the
Mexicans toward the Americans — in all, to find out
innumerable things for the elucidation of the cote¬
rie in Washington.

Once again Fremont became '*The Pathfinder,”
for he undertook to travel through a country no
white man had ever before visited, at least that
portion of it lying directly east from Sacramento.
No one up to that time had ever crossed the Sierra
in midwinter, which was looked upon as an almost
impossible task. Nothing, however, was impossible
to the Lieutenant and the probability of being over¬
taken by a terrific snowstorm apparently never oc¬
curred to him, so he set out to conquer the sublime
heights to the west, to pursue his solitary way

(III)

I 12

A MAN UNAFRAID

among the lonely canyons and mountain walls
robed in their garment of spotless white, where
there was no sound to break the heavy silence save
the soft whisper of the falling flakes of snow.

They left their camp on the Carson River on Jan¬
uary 19 th, and going up this stream, crossed a little
mountain by a circuitous route, camping on the same
river at an elevation of over four thousand feet. They
then followed up the Carson and camped "close to
the mountains” where the snow was covered with the
tracks of Indians. The next day they traveled in a
southerly direction over a tolerably level country
and encamped on another large stream known as
Walker River in the maps of today. After a jaunt
of fourteen miles they came to the mountains where
one branch of the river "issued in the southwest,”
while the other flowed from the southeast along
their base; here camp was made and Fremont
climbed a near-by range and saw a circular valley
beyond. The Indian trail over which he had been
traveling led directly to a gorge on the farther side
of the valley, at the base of the main mountain
which rose abruptly. The gorge was evidently a
pass, but as the snow was falling heavily he decided
not to risk it, but to go south, camping near the
forks of the river. On January 23 rd he continued
to travel southeast over a good road, arriving at an¬
other stream — the East Walker River — which he
thought might be a branch of the Buenaventura,
but was disappointed in finding it "an inland wa¬
ter.” It was now clear to him that since leaving
Summer Lake he had been flanking the great range
that divided the Great Basin from the waters of the

MONTEREY IN 1927

Contrast this picture with the print made in 1846.

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

113

Pacific and that the lakes and rivers he had encoun¬
tered were the drainage from that range. This was
one important fact that he had learned.

Previous to breaking camp the morning of Jan¬
uary 24th an aged Indian came running up with a
bagful of pine nuts to sell. None of the men could
understand his language. He spoke in the Washoe
tongue, which is not a dialect but the language of
the Washoe tribe, inhabitants of Nevada. By means
of signs Fremont engaged the Indian to lead him to
a pass which he knew and before the agreement was
terminated several other Washoes came into camp.
Accompanied by the newcomers the party started
up a creek, and after following a rocky trail over
a broken country, passed through a snowy gap north
of Lake Mono. From here they descended into a
wide valley where they spent the night. In the
morning, which was sunny and beautiful, twelve
Washoes put in an appearance, each carrying a bag
of pine nuts.

"Whenever we met these Indians,” remarks Fre¬
mont, "their friendly salutation consisted in offer¬
ing a few nuts to eat and to trade; their only arms
were bows with flint-pointed arrows.”

The pacific conduct of the party quieted any
alarm the Washoes may have felt and the presents
given to them inspired their confidence. The Indian
guides wore out their moccasins and one of them
was put on a horse. He had never been horseback
before and created much amusement for all con¬
cerned. In coming to a pass in the foothills the snow
was much deeper and the Indians refused to go any
farther. Whether it was because of fear of the

A MAN UNAFRAID

114

higher mountains ahead or of some other tribe with
whom they were at war the Lieutenant was unable
to ascertain. Anyway he was left to find his own
way through the untracked mountain fastnesses.
They descended into a valley, not reaching the bot¬
tom until dark. The day had been warm enough
to melt the snow and in consequence their mocca¬
sins were wet and as night came on froze stiff on
their feet. A good fire of willows soon dried them
out. To add to the comfort they felt, seated by
the glowing flames, Fremont passed out a little
brandy he had been preserving with great care and
which, fortunately, he had obtained without a doc¬
tor’s prescription. Preuss asked whether or not the
"famed nectar possessed so exquisite a flavor.” Here
they remained for a day for the purpose of recon-
noitering and from a high ridge they saw an open
country, which was "supposed to form the valley
of the Buenaventura,” but in reality they were
looking at a section lying northwest of Mono Lake,
which has the general appearance of a valley.

With Carson, the Lieutenant traveled up a branch
of Buckeye Creek for twelve miles and at the be¬
ginning of a valley they selected a camping' spot.
The day following Carson was left to move the
camp to this place, while Fitzpatrick went with
Fremont to a "narrow strip of prairie about fifty
yards wide between walls of granite.” This is no
doubt the place now known as the "Devil’s Gate.”
The Lieutenant supposed this to be the point in
which were gathered the mountains between the
"two great rivers and from which the waters flowed
off to the bay.” It is evident that he had the San

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

115

Joaquin and Sacramento in mind by his reference to
'*two great rivers.”

They reached camp after dark and the next day
the entire caravan followed, passing Devil’s Gate,
and, after twelve miles, camped on a high point
near the West Walker River. Once more the how¬
itzer was left behind with the hope of rescuing
it later. The following few days were marked by
hard going, and it was during this period of ascend¬
ing and descending the steep mountain slopes that
the howitzer was finally left to rust out in the wilds
of the Sierra. Says Fremont:

“The principal stream still running through an
impracticable canyon, we ascended a very steep hill,
which proved afterward the last and fatal obstacle
to our little howitzer, which was finally abandoned
at this place.”

In this connection it may be said that the giving
up of this gun entailed no hardship on the men or
caused any copious flow of tears, though Fremont,
no doubt, felt bad. Some Indians were induced
to come into camp and from them it was found
that they had yet to cross the mountains, that they
had been traveling thus far along the foothills. The
Lieutenant promised the Indians many presents if
they would guide him over the range. Looking at
him intently they raised their hands high above
their heads to show him the impossibility of travel¬
ing through the deep snow. They made signs to ad¬
vise him that he must go to the south, where he
would find people who lived near a pass in the great
mountains. They said one day’s journey would bring
him to this place, and they agreed to furnish a guide.

A MAN UNAFRAID

1 16

The food supply was now running low. They
were forced to rely on pine nuts to a considerable
extent, though they still had some dried peas, a little
flour, some coffee, and a number of pounds of sugar
which was held in reserve as a "defense against star¬
vation.” The Indians told of a party of white men
who had been that way two years before, probably
meaning the Bartleson— Bid well caravan, which
made the journey in 1841, though Fremont con¬
cluded the Indians must have meant Chiles or
Walker, the only two men known to him to have
crossed the mountains from the Great Basin.

On January 3 oth the entire party went forward
with a young Washoe to guide them. Here the
river opened out into a broad valley and the travel¬
ing was very good. They made but ten miles that
day and camped in the low river bottom where
there was no snow, but considerable ice. Fires were
made of dry willows, and they were fairly com¬
fortable. At this point the river ran in a north¬
easterly direction, and ahead of them they saw a
gap in the mountains. The next day after a tramp
of some fourteen miles they reached this pass when
it began to snow heavily. It grew intensely cold,
and as night came on, the Indian, shivering from
the snow which fell on his naked skin, showed some
reluctance about continuing and was let to go, but
he kept the pieces of blue and scarlet cloth the Lieu¬
tenant had given him tightly rolled up, not wishing
to get them wet. In the afternoon they found a
good camping place by a wooded stream where they
saw before them "a great continuous range along
which stretched the valley of the river, the lower

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

117

parts steep and dark with pines, while above it was
hidden with clouds.” This they felt to be the cen¬
tral ridge of the Sierra Nevada. They had made
a forced march of twenty-six miles, and, save the
animals that had been stolen, none of them had
given out. In the band they now had sixty-seven
mules and horses.

The camp fires were no more than lighted when
a number of half -naked Washoes appeared, who
had evidently been on a rabbit hunt, judging from
the nets they carried with them. Fremont addressed
himself to several of the more intelligent looking
ones, explaining to them that he desired to cross the
mountains to other white men beyond, and that he
had come from a far-off country, having traveled
nearly a year. One old man, acting as spokesman,
informed him that it was six sleeps to the land of
the whites, but that it would be impossible to go
there now on account of the deep snow, strongly
advising him to follow the course of the river, which
would lead to a big lake where there were many
fish. There he could remain till the mild weather
of spring. Fremont labored under the delusion that
he was still on the Truckee, while it is more than
probable that he was on the East Carson. In reply he
told the Indians that his men and horses were strong
and that they would break a road through the snow.
Fie spread before them all sorts of tempting trinkets,
saying he would give all of them for the services of
a guide. The old man said there was one among
them who had been across the mountains to where
the whites lived, and going out of the lodge he re¬
turned in a few moments with a very intelligent

ii8

A MAN UNAFRAID

appearing young Washoe, whom the Lieutenant
prevailed upon to become his guide. He was called
Melo, a word meaning friend. He was provided
with skins for moccasins, a large green blanket, leg¬
gings, and other articles of clothing, including some
blue and scarlet cloth in which he arrayed himself
with evident satisfaction.

The party was now pressed for food, having
neither grease nor tallow, and the lack of salt was a
serious privation. A dog that had followed them
from Bear Valley was sacrificed and served a part
of the camp, while a few rabbits were bought from
the Indians. The river was frozen over. Above them
gleamed the icy summits of the Sierra. The men
grew strangely silent. They knew they were at¬
tempting something hazardous and whether or not
they would succeed remained to be seen. As the
snow became deeper Fremont adopted a system of
road-breaking in which the men alternated every
so far. Passing two snow-covered huts in which a
family of Washoes lived they camped on the bank
of a creek, where, on a hillside exposed to the sun,
Carson found enough grass for the animals. They
were now at an elevation of six thousand seven hun¬
dred and sixty feet. They proceeded up Marklee-
ville Creek, being forced to travel along the steep
slopes and over spurs, the snowdrifts having filled
all the hollows. They made only seven miles when
they stopped for the night under a great cedar and
sent their animals back to their previous camp to
feed. The rest of the day was spent in breaking a
road, and while thus employed several Indians
joined them on snowshoes.

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

119

The morning of February 4th Fremont, with
several men, went ahead, each leading a horse to
break the road, which, in spite of their best efforts,
was not always successful. Late in the day they
arrived at a dividing point between two ridges and
saw beyond a basin, some ten miles across, which
was covered with snow. On the western side rose
the middle crest of the mountain, a "dark-looking
ridge of volcanic rock.” The basin to which Fremont
refers is where the West Carson River has its source.
Toward a pass, which the guide indicated, they at¬
tempted to make their way, but after the horses had
lunged and wallowed for several hundred yards
through the drifts and had become utterly ex¬
hausted, they were brought to a complete stand¬
still. The guide told Fremont they were entering
the deep snow where their real difl&culties were to
begin. To continue seemed hopeless, but he did not
despair. His will was to succeed, but the present
state of affairs gave him pause. He ordered Fitz¬
patrick to return to the camp by the cedar tree and
to have Tabeau take the horses to the camp of the
previous night, while he, with some others, was to
remain there. A fire was built around the trunk of
a huge pine, and that night they slept on a bed of
boughs. The wind blew icy cold and there was little
sleep for Fremont. He says this was one of the bit¬
terest nights of his entire journey. At this camp
two Indians showed up, one an old man who began
to harangue the Lieutenant about the danger of try¬
ing to cross the range in the snow, saying that if he
would go back the Indians would show him a much
better route. He spoke in a loud voice and there

120

A MAN UNAFRAID

was a singular repetition of words and phrases
which made his speech rather musical. After a time
the men began to understand what the aged Indian
was talking about. The gist of his plea for Fremont
to retrace his steps was contained in the words,
"rock upon rock, rock upon rock, snow upon snow,
snow upon snow,” meantime making signs of preci¬
pices where the feet of the horses would slip, sending
them over the precipitous cliffs to a horrible death
far below. It was plain that the old man was in
dead earnest. The Siwash lad from the Columbia
who had "wanted to see the whites” seemed to com¬
prehend the grave danger which threatened the
party and burst into lamentations, finally covering
his head with a blanket and emitting prolonged
wails.

The guide had risen early and stood shivering by
the fire. The Lieutenant threw a blanket over the
Indian’s shoulders and in a few minutes he was not
to be seen. Nor was he ever again seen by any of
Fremont’s men. Ffe had deserted without a word.
While the men busied themselves bringing the bag¬
gage up to that point Fremont and a few others
were engaged in making snowshoes and sledges. The
day after they set out on a reconnoitering expedi¬
tion. With Fremont were Fitzpatrick and Carson,
and they crossed the basin, climbing one of the
peaks on the left side of the pass. From this point
they were delighted to look down into the great
valley to the west. Carson, who had been in Cali¬
fornia fifteen years before, recognized the low-
lying mountains beyond as the Coast Range which
skirts the Pacific.

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

I2I

"At the distance of apparently thirty miles be¬
yond us,” says Fremont, "were distinguished spots
of prairie, and a dark line, which could be traced
with the glass, was imagined to be the course of the
river; but we were evidently at a great height above
the valley, and between us and the plain extended
miles of snow fields and broken ridges of pine-cov¬
ered mountains.”

When they turned toward camp it was quite late
in the day. One of the men became fatigued and
his feet began to freeze. Fitzpatrick set fire to a dry
cedar and remained with the man until he was en¬
tirely thawed out. The snow over which they trav¬
eled was five feet deep on the average, but in some
places it was twenty. Several days were spent in
getting the baggage to the pass, the men suffering
from snow blindness which was relieved to some
extend by wearing black silk handkerchiefs over
their faces as veils. Fitzpatrick, who had charge of
the animals, sent word that it was impossible to get
the horses through the snow even where the men
had tramped down a roadway. The poor beasts
lunged about in a frantic effort to walk, but would
fall, and not having strength to rise lay buried in
the drifts. Sending a messenger to Fremont for
instructions he was ordered to take the horses back
to their old pasture and with mauls and shovels to
open and beat a way through the snow, strengthen¬
ing this with branches and boughs of the pine. The
whole party were soon engaged in this work, and
they labored constantly for two days. Such exer¬
tion increases the appetite, and when there is little
or nothing to satisfy it the situation becomes criti-

122

A MAN UNAFRAID

cal, consequently Godey was granted permission to
kill the little dog Klamath, which he prepared In¬
dian fashion — "scorching off the hair and washing
the skin with soap and snow.” Shortly after this a
supply of meat arrived and it is recorded that the
party enjoyed an extraordinary dinner — "pea soup,
mule, and dog.” This stopping place was called
"Long Camp,” being close to Carson Pass.

On the 14th of February, in company with
Preuss, Fremont climbed one of the highest peaks,
either Red Lake or Stevens, one being about as high
as the other. From the summit of this peak they saw
below a beautiful sheet of water entirely surrounded
by mountains. This he named Mountain Lake, or
Lake Bonapland. Later it was called Lake Bigler. It
is now known the world over as Lake Tahoe. Its
altitude was estimated at six thousand two hundred
and twenty-five feet. To the east as far as they
could see was a great mass of broken, snowy moun¬
tains fading to blue in the distance. The Lieutenant
was two hours in climbing the peak, on which were
a few scattered trees, mostly cedar and aspen. The
two days following he spent reconnoitering with
Dodson beyond the pass where they camped on a
small stream, which he felt was the one on which
Captain Sutter lived in the Sacramento Valley. On
reaching camp he was delighted to find that all the
animals had arrived safely — fifty-seven of them —
and were feeding on a grassy knoll near by.

On February 20th the party, with all the horses
and mules and camp material, stood at the summit
of the pass, two thousand feet higher than the South
Pass of the Rockies, and by the road they had trav-

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

123

eled one thousand miles from The Dalles. It was
here that the words, "Kit Carson 1844” were later
found inscribed on a tree. In August, 1921, the
Native Sons of California erected here a bronze tab¬
let bearing a replica in bas-relief of a cross section of
the tree showing the early trail maker’s words, and
beneath the following inscription:

"On this spot, which marks the summit of Kit
Carson Pass, stood what was known as the Kit Car-
son tree on which the famous scout. Kit Carson,
inscribed his name in 1844 when he guided the then
Colonel John C. Fremont, head of a government
exploring expedition, over the Sierra Nevada Moun¬
tains. Above is a replica of the original inscription
cut from the tree in 1888 and now in Sutter’s Fort,
Sacramento.”

Fremont found the elevation to be nine thousand
three hundred and thirty-eight feet above sea level,
though later calculations somewhat reduced this
figure. To reach this pass had been a terrific strug¬
gle and their labors were by no means at an end.
Ahead of them lay a region covered with dense for¬
ests and broken by wild canyons. There were still
vast snow fields to contend with, but the sight of
the distant valley, through which a stream wound
like a silver thread, inspired the camp with renewed
courage. Leaving the pass, they followed down a
ridge on either side of which were deep drifts of
snow. Hearing the sound of thunder, they looked
toward the far-off valley and found it enveloped
with clouds where a storm was raging. When these
clouds disappeared they fancied they could see the
Sacramento River and the bay of San Francisco,

124

A MAN UNAFRAID

though they could hardly think this true, having
met with so many disappointments. Once more the
Buenaventura occurred to them, but this was the
last time. That night they saw fires in the valley,
which they concluded had been lighted in answer
to theirs, but discovered in time that the fires were
those of the Indians some eighty miles distant. In
descending they sighted a few open spots, but to
find these required unlimited patience. But they
well knew that below them was a land of surpassing
beauty and fertility, which they would eventually
reach. Their only food now was mule meat — their
one resource from starvation. However, the weather
was pleasant and the sunsets, washing the western
sky with gold, compensated in a measure for the
hunger they may have felt. They were soon travel¬
ing over snowdrifts, the crusts of which were strong
enough to bear the weight of the animals. They
crossed grass-covered ridges and sometimes took to
the steep slopes where they were forced to scramble
for a footing. In some places they were obliged to
crawl on hands and knees because of the slippery
soles of their moccasins.

While making a reconnaissance with Carson the
Lieutenant slipped on a rock in the river and was
thrown into the icy current. Thinking his companion
was hurt, Carson sprang in after him. Fremont lost
his gun, but afterward found it where it had been
slungunder an overhanging bank. OnFebruary 24th
they came to the South Fork of the American River.
On this day they were gladdened by the sight of
some green grass. Here the river went raging over
huge bowlders and tearing down the mountains in

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

125

a perfect torrent. At times they beat down the
snow with mauls to make a path for the horses, and
at length descended to the lower foothills, where
Fremont saw for the first time California flowers in
bloom. On the 26 th they reached a fork of Silver
Creek and killed a mule for food, the head of the
animal making "passable soup.” Grass was very
scarce and the animals suffered. Fremont’s horse,
Proveau, became very weak and the condition of
the stock caused alarm.

Meantime, Fitzpatrick was left to make his way
down the mountains as best he could, while the
Lieutenant, taking Preuss, Talbot, Carson, Der-
soier. Towns, Proue, and Dodson with him, went
in advance to reach Sutter’s at the quickest possible
moment and to return with provisions for those
behind. Each hour they expected to reach the val¬
ley, but it always seemed a little farther on. Pro¬
veau, Fremont’s favorite mount, wandered away,
and Dersoier volunteered to get him. Towns be¬
came deranged by the privations he had endured
and went swimming in the icy waters of the river.
Late at night Dersoier returned, his mind also be¬
wildered. He thought he had been gone several days.
Fatigue and weakness had affected his mind.

"The times were severe,” remarks Fremont,
"when stout men lost their minds from extremity
of suffering, when horses died and when mules and
horses ready to die of starvation were killed for
food. Yet there was no murmuring or hesitation.”

Preuss, who had gone on ahead down the river,
did not return to camp and a search was made
for him. Pistols were fired, fires were lighted,

A MAN UNAFRAID

1 26

but he failed to appear. The Lieutenant, growing
alarmed, followed down the river in the hope of
overtaking him, but found only some tracks made
by the Indians. They had now reached a country
where the camping was excellent, the grass abun¬
dant, while the live oaks formed a continuous grove
as the river increased in width. The evening of the
third day Fremont heard a weak cry and was over¬
joyed to see Preuss coming toward him. He had
been lost and explained the occurrence as follows :

Knowing it to be the Lieutenant’s intentions to
keep close to the river, he went on searching for
places that afforded a good view of the country. He
did not follow very near to the trail and toward
evening returned to the river. Surmising that the
party was behind him he went back until darkness
came on, when he stopped and built a big fire in a
pile of rocks. The next day was a repetition of the
first, and he hastened to reach the valley, which
seemed his only hope. He subsisted on the roots of a
plant familiarly known as the sweet onion. While
digging for these with his pocket knife he unearthed
some large red ants, which served as a dessert. In the
pools by the river he found some small frogs, which
he ate with a relish and hunted for acorns, but
found none. Once he heard what he thought was
the barking of dogs, and hurrying in the direction
whence the sounds came, encountered two huge
timber wolves, not pleasant companions at such a
time. Passing on down the river he came upon sev¬
eral Indians, who were generous enough to offer him
a handful of roasted acorns. He gave them his
pocket knife in return for the favor. They refused

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

127

to shake hands with him, not knowing this to be
a custom among the whites. As he went on he found
the tracks of Fremont’s horses and the smoldering
fire he had made. He overtook the party just at
nightfall and as his strength was giving out.

Fremont continued down the river, occasionally
pausing to admire the beauty around him. Their
horses reveled in the long, strong grass and gained in
strength until they could carry the men with per¬
fect ease. On the 6 th of March they reached the
North Fork of the American River, which was at
first taken to be the Sacramento. The banks of this
stream were gay with flowers. The poppy’s chalice
was filled with the sunshine of the perfect day.
These native flowers of California rioted through
the meadow lands weaving a wonderful cloth of
gold. To the men, fatigued and worn from the
terrible trip through the snow-clad ranges, this
region must have seemed a veritable paradise with
its manifold enchantments. Large oaks and green,
grassy spaces now greeted the eyes of the travelers.
In a short time they came to an adobe house with
glass windows. As there was no one at home they
passed on, soon arriving at an Indian village, where
the inhabitants wore cotton shirts and other gar¬
ments suggestive of civilization. One of the Indians,
who spoke Spanish, informed Fremont that the
river down which he had journeyed was the Rio
de los Americanos, or American River, and that it
joined the Sacramento about ten miles below. He
volunteered to take the party to Fort Sutter, three
miles distant. When within a few hundred yards
of the fort they were met by Captain Sutter him-

128

A MAN UNAFRAID

self and for the time being their troubles were over,
for he entertained them in a most royal manner.

After a night’s refreshing sleep the Lieutenant
left early in the morning to meet Fitzpatrick and
his party, carrying with him a supply of bread, sal¬
mon, and beef. On the second day he met them —
"skeleton men leading skeleton horses.” They were
all on foot, "a more forlorn and pitiable sight than
they presented cannot well be imagined.” Fitzpat¬
rick had a sad tale to tell. The melting snows had
made the descent of the mountains very hazard¬
ous, a number of the horses and mules falling over
the cliffs and losing their packs. Among these was
a mule that fell and lost all of the plants that Fre¬
mont had collected since leaving Fort Hall. Of the
sixty-seven animals with which they had started
across the range, only thirty-three lived to reach
the Sacramento Valley, which gives a very good
idea of the hardships the party encountered. Then,
too, a number of the men had become ill owing to
the unwholesome food they were compelled to
eat. On March 8th, 1844, Fremont and his party
were once more all together encamped at the junc¬
tion of the American and Sacramento rivers.

After months of travel and adventure the Lieu¬
tenant had arrived at the most important post in
California — Sutter’s Fort. It was located on the
site afterward occupied by the city of Sacramento
and was built of adobe, being about one hundred
and fifty yards long and fifty in width. The outer
walls were fifteen feet high and the inner ones about
ten. Between the two were the stores and shops,
while the master occupied a separate house within

Fremont loved the beautiful wild flowers of California and frequently wrote in his diary
descriptions of scenes like the one shown in this picture. [See page 127.]

130

A MAN UNAFRAID

the enclosure. From the Russian Fort at Ross the
Captain had obtained at a cost of some thirty thou¬
sand dollars many cattle and horses, sixteen small
cannon, two bronze fieldpieces, and some ammuni¬
tion.

Captain John A. Sutter was born in Baden in
1803 and came to California in 1839. He made
many friends, being of an engaging personality.
After a short time spent in Monterey he went up
the Sacramento River and founded "New Helve¬
tia,’^ becoming a Mexican citizen in 1 840. He was
appointed an official of the Mexican government by
Alvarado, the revolutionary governor. His "New
Helvetia” soon expanded into an immense estate,
harboring cattle, sheepj and horses by the thousand.
He called himself "Governor of the Fortress of New
Helvetia” and wore a sort of uniform and side
arms as befitted his station. In the beginning he suf¬
fered annoyance from the Indians, but gradually
commanded their respect as he did the Californians
in general. The plowing, harrowing, and other
work on his vast domain was performed by the na¬
tives, who were compensated by articles of clothing
and blankets. He made use of the Indian boys and
girls in various capacities, and during Fremont’s
visit they were engaged in watering the gardens, the
season being unusually dry. Some forty Indians in
uniform did police duty, one guarding the gate con¬
stantly in true military fashion. He employed about
thirty men, Americans, Germans, and French. It
was one of his men, John Marshall, who first dis¬
covered gold and who told of his find to Captain
Sutter. He immediately let the world know of this.

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

131

which, unfortunately, proved his undoing. In a
few years he was stripped of his possessions and
died in Washington "vainly beseeching Congress
for some restitution of the princely fortune filched
from him by the Americans.” It was well for the
emigrants that there was a Sutter at the end of the
long trail, and often his kindness to them was re¬
paid by rank ingratitude. Captain Sutter, while
very hospitable and generous, resented any en¬
croachment on his estate, as shown in a letter he
wrote on learning that Alvarado was to permit the
Hudson Bay Company to trap along the Sacra¬
mento, and in which he declared he would make a
Declaration of Independence and proclaim Cali¬
fornia a republic independent of Mexico. He de¬
nounced Castro, who, with Vallejo, had become
alarmed at the number of Americans arriving in
the territory via Oregon.

Fremont remained at Sutter’s Fort until March
22nd, where he replenished his entire camp equip¬
ment. Horses, mules, and cattle were collected, new
pack saddles were made, and a great load of provi¬
sions provided for the homeward journey. Mean¬
time he found out all that was possible about politi¬
cal conditions in California and the attitude of the
people toward the Mexican government. At Sut¬
ter’s a number of men were released at their own
request. Dersoier, who had won Fremont’s high
regard by his strict adherence to duty, wandered
off and was not heard of again, though rumor had it
that he appeared in St. Louis two years later. His
blacksmith, Neal, expressed a wish to remain in
California and was given work at the fort. In all

132

A MAN UNAFRAID

there were nineteen men engaged for the return
trip, which was sufficient. When the Lieutenant
bade farewell to Captain Sutter he had with him
one hundred and thirty mules and horses and some
thirty cattle, five of which were milch cows. An
Indian boy was furnished by the master of New
Helvetia to act as vaquero, as many of the animals
were untamed and required almost constant at¬
tention. Fremont’s first objective was Walker’s
Pass, about five hundred miles to the south. His
route led up the San Joaquin River, but instead of
Walker’s Pass, he probably reached the Tehachapi
instead. From there he expected to travel south un¬
til he met the Spanish Trail, running from Los An¬
geles to Santa Fe, and, after following this for a
time, to continue to Utah Lake, thus solving the
problem "of any river except the Colorado” coming
from the Rockies.

Some time after he had left Sutter’s an officer
arrived to inquire into the business that had brought
the party there. The Mexicans suspected Fremont
of ulterior motives in visiting California, but he
had gone into that territory without any interfer¬
ence on their part.

The route which he decided to pursue would
carry him over a desert country on the Spanish
Trail. Owing to the formation of the region to be
traversed it would mean a journey of two thousand
miles before reaching the Arkansas — a long and
tiresome trip. He found the usual difficulties of
travel reduced to a minimum in the San Joaquin
Valley. The first day the party made eighteen miles,
passing over a level region covered with grass, with

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

133

an occasional grove of live oaks to lend variety.
There were fields of blue lupine, several feet in
height, which, interspersed with the profusion of
golden poppies, added to the pleasure of the trav¬
elers. They saw several bands of elk and antelope,
and, riding along in the spring sunshine, felt very
comfortable, indeed.

Passing the Cosumne River and crossing a branch
of the Mokelumne, they came to the Calaveras
River and rested beneath a tree a short distance
from the site of the present city of Stockton. On
reaching the Stanislaus River the Lieutenant found
that the depth of the water precluded the possibility
of fording the stream, so he went some five miles
above, hoping to find a ford, but was disappointed.
Some of the cattle were killed and the baggage was
ferried across in a boat made of their skins. Here
the Indian boy, who had joined them at Sutter’s and
who was no doubt frightened by the number of
streams they had crossed separating him from his
tribe, took occasion to desert. Then thirteen of the
cattle decided to quit the expedition, and as they
took the trail for the fort little effort was made to
recapture them. On April 2nd a boat was built to
carry them across the Tuolumne River, and in
twenty-two miles they came to a river which the
Lieutenant said had no name, but it was doubtless
the Merced. It was easily crossed and they contin¬
ued along the east bank of the San Joaquin, arriving
at another tributary which required them to make a
long detour. Bands of wild horses were numerous,
particularly on the west side of the river, so for fear
of losing some of his own animals he kept to the

134

A MAN UNAFRAID

eastern bank. The weather became rather disagree¬
able and on April 7 th they marched in a cold rain
through a dense fog, traveling by compass. The
next day they arrived at the principal tributary of
Tulare Lake, which he called River of the Lake. It
is now known as Kings River. It was a country of
marshes covered with bullrushes and crossed by
numerous sloughs. Later on they reached a section
suggestive of aridity, but were soon in a land of oaks
and streams. Ascending a trail for a few miles in a
southeasterly direction they struck a little creek
that soon lost itself in the sand. That night after
camp was made they were visited by a Christian In¬
dian who spoke Spanish fluently and who persuaded
Fremont to give up his idea of traveling toward
Great Salt Lake, after crossing the mountains, as
he would find a country utterly devoid of water and
with no green thing growing for many weary miles.
The Lieutenant acted on this advice. He had now
learned several things, among them being that the
Bay of San Francisco did not extend far into the
interior, that no Buenaventura River emptied into
it as shown by the maps — in fact, that the Buena¬
ventura was a trapper’s myth, existing only in the
imagination of certain frontiersmen. He had found
the only river in the West having its source in the
Rockies and its termination in the Pacific to be the
Columbia.

On April 1 2th they came to another large river,
which emptied into a lake at the head of a valley,
and which Fremont afterward named Kern River
and Kern Lake after a member of his third expedi¬
tion. On the 13 th they camped near the summit of

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

135

Tehachapi Pass and on gaining the topmost ridge
the following day saw a desolate landscape lying
below the Mojave Desert. Before nightfall they
came to a place dotted with Yucca’s, which, accord¬
ing to Fremont, is the "most repulsive tree in the
vegetable kingdom,” being associated in his mind
with the barren desert and the burning sands.

The mission Indian, who had been their guide for
several days, now departed southward, while the
party took a hardly perceptible trail leading east.
At the foot of a black butte, indicated by their re¬
cent guide, they found a stream of good water
where they camped for the night. Having given
most of the animals a free range they had some dif¬
ficulty in getting them all together again the next
morning. They were following along the edge of
the desert near the southern rim of the mountains,
passing over broken ground, where grass was scarce
and watering places infrequent. After marching
eighteen miles, on April 20th they reached the
Spanish Trail and a shout of pleasure went up from
the men, for here was a "road to travel on and a
right course to go.” In making the trip along the
trail, Fremont sought the camping places of the
Santa Fe travelers. Their way led along the Mojave
River for some distance, or rather along the sandy
bed of what was sometimes a river, according to the
season of the year. A few Mojave Indians were en¬
countered — ^poor and hungry as usual — and they
enjoyed a great feast when the party butchered
some of the cattle, which were worn out from
travel.

Two Mexicans, a man and a boy, came into camp

136

A MAN UNAFRAID

one evening and reported that they were a part of
a caravan that had left Los Angeles in advance of
the others and had had a fight with the Indians, who
had stolen their horses. They were Andreas Fuentes
and Pablo Hernandez, who, with Pablo’s father and
mother and Fuentes ’s wife and a Mexican named
Giacome, had halted some eighty miles ahead at a
spring called the Archilette to wait for the rest of
the party. Here they were attacked by a hundred
Indians, but Andreas and Pablo, driving as many
horses as possible, fortunately escaped. The two
Mexicans accompanied Fremont the next day, ar¬
riving at the Agua de Tomaso, where the horses had
been left and from which they had been driven
away by the redskins. Carson and Godey volun¬
teered to go after them, and their exploit is one of
the most thrilling in the annals in Western adven¬
ture. The two scouts followed the trail of the rob¬
bers until night came on, when they reached a
mountain and entered a narrow defile into which
the moon cast no light. Unable to see, they lay down
without lighting a fire and slept until dawn, when
they were again in pursuit. About sunrise they dis¬
covered the horses and four lodges in close prox¬
imity. They advanced cautiously and when within
forty yards gave a war whoop and rushed in, not
knowing how many occupants the lodges con¬
tained. A sharp battle ensued and an arrow passed
through Godey’s shirt collar, just grazing his neck.
In a moment two of the marauders lay dead on the
ground, while the others fled in terror. Carson and
Godey were soon masters of the situation. They
found that the Indians had prepared for a big feast.

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

137

having killed and dressed some of the best horses,
no doubt expecting others to join in the festival.
These aborigines, who lived in the mountains, had
no use for horses except for food. The two adven¬
turers, driving fifteen of the animals, returned to
camp the afternoon of the next day. Two scalps
dangled at the end of Godey’s gun as proof of their
success. In all they had ridden about a hundred
miles and were thirty hours in the saddle. To pur¬
sue a band of Indians day and night into an un¬
known region and to attack them without knowing
their number required men of iron nerve and sub¬
lime courage.

Fremont took part of the night for traveling be¬
cause of the terrific heat of the day. The country
continued bare and sandy, with few water holes and
little grass. A strong hot wind began to blow, and
here and there were skeletons of horses that had
perished from thirst. Crossing a stretch of desert
on the 29 th, the most "sterile and repulsive” they
had yet seen, they entered a basin and soon reached
the camping ground known as the Archilette. The
silence that hung over the place foreboded evil, and
on riding up they discovered the corpses of Hernan¬
dez and Giacome, mutilated and pierced with ar¬
rows. Everything was gone except a little dog
belonging to Pablo’s mother. Of the women no
trace could be found, and it was evident they had
been carried off captives. The little dog was frantic
with joy on seeing Pablo, who cried piteously for
his mother and father. The men of the party were
most sympathetic when they saw the grief -stricken
boy. Both Carson and Godey felt they had wreaked

138

A MAN UNAFRAID

vengeance upon some of the Indian tribe, at least,
and this fact afforded slight consolation. This spot
Fremont named Agua de Hernandez, but it is now
known as Resting Springs.

The landscape remained quite the same in appear¬
ance, dry and rocky, with an occasional dwarf oak,
an acacia or a few cottonwoods. An ornamental
plant that served to decorate an otherwise dreary
looking country was the cactus which flourished
in the sandy soil. The animals were limping badly
from the incessant rocks, while the lack of cool
water was a severe handicap. They were frequently
forced to travel fifty or sixty miles without coming
to a creek or a spring, suffering greatly from thirst
and occasionally moistening their parched lips with
the acid of the sour dock, which afforded temporary
relief.

Early in May they arrived at Las Vegas, Nevada,
which was near to the Great Basin and where the
traveler on the Spanish Trail was always glad to get
on account of the fine water and the abundance of
grass. The Lieutenant found the water at Las Vegas
**rather too warm to be agreeable,” but it was better
than none. The next day found him in a barren,
waterless country, extending sixty miles to the
northeast, at the termination of which was a branch
of the Virgin River called the Rio de los Angeles or
Muddy River. Here the party remained for a day
to recuperate after their long and grueling march.
In the morning the camp was crowded with In¬
dians of the Piute tribe, said to be among the most
treacherous in that part of the country. The horses
were at once driven in and kept close to the camp.

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

139

the Indians meantime using very insulting terms to
show their contempt for the party. These redskins
were the same that had murdered the Mexicans,
and their intentions toward Fremont were evidently
hostile. They were nearly naked, their hair gathered
into a knot behind and each was armed with bow
and arrow, the latter barbed with a clear, translu¬
cent stone.

*'In these Indians,” remarks the Lieutenant, "I
was struck by an expression of countenance resem¬
bling that of a beast of prey — a restless motion of
the eye and an action wholly by impulse.” One of
them, who appeared to be chief, forced himself
into camp armed, which was directly contrary to
Fremont’s orders, and who began to belittle the size
of the party as compared with that of the Indians.
He poked fun at their firearms until Carson in exas¬
peration said, "Don’t say that, old man — your life
is in danger!” And it is probable that the chief was
never before so near death as at that particular
moment.

During the day the Indians roasted and ate lizards
by the fires of the camp. Fremont gave a group of
them a horse that had become exhausted, thereby
incurring the displeasure of the others. However,
he managed to pacify all of them, continuing his
march through a desolate, arid region, the sole in¬
habitants of which seemed to be lizards and lizard
eaters. After twenty miles they came to the Virgin
River, the most dreary stream he ever saw, and
crossing it, encamped on the east bank. For a num¬
ber of days they followed up this river with a strong
guard over the horses as the Indians were keeping

140

A MAN UNAFRAID

close behind, waiting a favorable opportunity to
steal some of them. For a time all signs of the Span¬
ish Trail vanished and men were sent out to recon-
noiter. They found the trail on the opposite side of
the river where there was a ford. One of the best
men, Tabeau, rode back toward the camp of the
previous night in search of a lame mule and failed
to return. Carson, becoming alarmed, informed
Fremont of Tabeau ’s absence, and while they were
discussing the matter, smoke was seen in the dis¬
tance, a sign by which the Indians are given to
understand that a blow had been struck and to be
on their guard. Carson with several men rode down
the river, and after traveling several miles and find¬
ing nothing of the missing man or the mule, re¬
turned to camp for the night. They found, how¬
ever, what they believed in the uncertain light to
be a puddle of blood. The next morning Fremont,
Fitzpatrick, and some others joined in the search,
and going to the spot where the blood was seen they
found the mule slowly dying from an arrow wound
in its side, and near by the body of Tabeau, stripped
of clothing and badly mutilated. This discovery
cast a gloom over the party as Tabeau was among
the most popular of the men and that he should
meet such a terrible death filled his comrades with
a fierce desire for revenge. Fremont felt that as
much as he would like to avenge the death of this
man, an expedition into the mountains would
be quite impossible owing to the poor condition of
the horses. He well knew who committed the mur¬
der, as the Indians who had previously infested his
camp entirely disappeared.

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

141

They now pursued their way toward a pass in the
Santa Clara Mountains, approaching it through a
rocky defile. Here the country put on an altogether
different aspect, which was hailed with delight by
the travelers. Bunch grass was seen on the hillside,
and a variety of shrubs also appeared. They found
an excellent camping place on the Santa Clara, a
branch of the Virgin, where the feed was good and
the water cool and refreshing. They had been
twenty-seven days in the desert, and while the
country was yet broken the journey along the Santa
Clara was much more pleasant as the landscape was
less desolate.

On May n th the party took the right hand of
the Santa Clara, which led them to an "extensive
mountain meadow,” afterward Mountain Meadow,
where the massacre of a caravan from Missouri by
the Mormons occurred in 1 8 5 7. In a few more days
they reached the dividing ridge between the waters
of the Virgin and those of the Sevier, which flows to
the north, belonging to the Great Basin. They were
now at the rim of the Basin, the terminating point
of the desert, where on a high plateau, grass-cov¬
ered, and containing many springs, they halted in
order to rest the animals and give the men time for
recuperation. The elevation at this place was five
thousand two hundred and eighty feet, and the dis¬
tance from which they first struck the Spanish Trail
was about four hundred miles. The recollections
of those four hundred miles were far from pleasant,
as they recalled weary days of heat and thirst, of
rocks andsand and of winds that scorched and seared.
In addition to these discomforts there was the con-

142

A MAN UNAFRAID

stant danger of an attack by Indians, requiring an
all-night guard and the strictest vigilance. They
were now able to relax and enjoy life. Here they
were joined by Joseph Walker, noted explorer and
mountaineer, who had come from California with
a big caravan, and noting signs along the way of a
party of whites in advance, assumed they were Fre¬
mont’s men and hastened ahead with eight other
Americans. In the desert Walker had some of his
horses wounded and had killed two Indian robbers.
He was engaged by Fremont as guide, being very
familiar with the country.

After a time of relaxation they again pressed for¬
ward, following a tributary of Sevier Lake, at
length leaving the Spanish Trail and continuing
along the base of the Wasatch Mountains, finding
their own way through the wilderness. The region
was fertile and there were many fine streams. They
met a band of Ute Indians, the chief having taken
the name of Walker. They were armed with rifles,
which they knew how to handle, and were on their
way to the Spanish Trail, doubtless bent on robbery.
However, they conducted their thievery in a high-
class manner by simply demanding toll of the trav¬
eler for passing through their country. They chose
the horses that struck their fancy and took them,
offering some worthless trinkets in exchange.
Walker made Fremont’s name known to the chief,
who had heard of his previous expedition. As a
token of friendship an exchange of blankets was
made and the Indians passed on.

Unable to find a ford at the Sevier River, the
Lieutenant constructed rafts out of bundles of

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

143

rushes and by this means transported all the baggage
from one bank to the other, while the horses and
mules swam. This method of transportation proves
the ingenuity of mankind in such instances. Here
one of the men named Badeau was accidentally killed
by drawing his gun toward him by the muzzle. The
hammer caught and the weapon was discharged, the
bullet entering his head. He was buried on the bank
of the Sevier. From this point they crossed a ridge
and entered a beautiful mountain valley, directing
their course toward a high snowy peak at the foot
of which lay Utah Lake. Early the next morning,
when Fremont was in sight of this body of water,
he met some Indians who were well armed and were
mounted on fine horses. Utah Lake is about fifteen
miles in breadth and stretches far to the north, ter¬
minating within twenty or thirty miles of Great
Salt Lake. In arriving here he had concluded a cir¬
cuit of twelve degrees diameter north and south
and ten degrees east and west, finding himself in
May, 1844, near the same lake he left in September,
1843. So far he had been eight months in making
the trip and had traveled three thousand eight hun¬
dred miles. He had found the Buenaventura to be a
hoax, and was the first to examine scientifically this
great stretch of country, and to give to the world
an authentic report regarding it. Previous map
makers showed a woeful lack of definite informa¬
tion.

Leaving Utah Lake on May 27th, the party went
up one of its tributaries, the Spanish Fork, traveling
for two days through a narrow canyon until they
reached the headwaters of this stream, when they

144

A MAN UNAFRAID

crossed the ridge dividing the waters of the Great
Basin from those of the Colorado, arriving at the
source of a stream then called White River but now
known as Price River. Following up one of its
branches they came to a pass, the narrow trail per¬
mitting them to go only in single file. After cross¬
ing a number of swiftly flowing creeks and rivers,
during which time they lost one horse, they arrived
in the afternoon of June 3rd at Uinta Fort, on the
principal fork of the Uinta River. They camped
near the fort after experiencing some difficulty in
crossing this stream. The garrison at the fort, ac¬
cording to Fremont, was composed of Canadians
and Spaniards with the usual assemblage of Indian
squaws. Some months after the Lieutenant’s visit
the fort was attacked by a band of Utes, the men
being killed and the women made captives. Sugar
and coffiee were obtained at this post, also a quan¬
tity of dried meat. The party was strengthened
here by the addition of a well-known hunter named
Auguste Archambeau.

Fremont’s next stop was made at Ashley’s Fork
of Green River. He found the traveling hard, but
added very materially to his botanical collection.
On the night of June 6th they camped high up on
a mountainside and had a fine view of the Colorado,
the river winding its way through a narrow can¬
yon, which expands into a pleasant little valley sev¬
eral miles in length. On the 7th, after a pleasant
day’s journey, they arrived near evening at a steep
and rocky ravine, by which they descended to
"Brown’s Hole,” now Brown’s Park. Here the Colo¬
rado was found to be very high, occasionally over-

THE OLD CUSTOM-HOUSE AT MONTEREY

SAN JOSE IN THE EARLY DAYS

The Capital City of California when Fremont was elected
United States Senator.

VV5

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

145

flowing its banks, but by repairing a skin boat
bought at the fort they were able to make a crossing
without much trouble.

The lower end of the valley they were in was the
easternmost point of the Colorado. Near to where
they camped was an abandoned fort, probably Fort
Davy Crockett. From the valley the river enters a
deep gorge with precipices of red rock on either side.
Many of the rocky walls rose to a height of two
thousand feet and the region was known by the
trappers as the canyon country. Flere they saw
numerous bands of mountain sheep, several of
which were killed by the hunters. They were now
in a section where extreme vigilance was essential
to their safety, as the Sioux, who ranged in the
vicinity of the Colorado, were usually on the war¬
path. Near a branch of the river known as St.
Vrain’s Fork a party of hunters, of which Carson
was a member, was fired upon by the Indians two
years before. A man riding beside Carson received
five bullets in his body. Game was plentiful, and
with the fine pasturage to be found here the coun¬
try was never free of roaming Indians.

Leaving St. Vrain’s Fork on June 13 th, they
climbed a dividing ridge and about noon stood at an
elevation of about eight thousand feet, the summit
of the Rockies. Below them lay the valley of the
Platte and in the distance the Sweetwater range.
There was a region to the south of which no scien¬
tific account had been made. It was well known to
hunters and trappers, but unknown to science, and
it was Fremont’s wish to visit it, for within a radius
of a few miles was the approximation of the head-

146

A MAN UNAFRAID

waters of three rivers — the Platte, the Arkansas,
and the Grand River Fork of the Colorado. These
streams rise in three mountain coves called parks.
To visit one of these would necessitate a recrossing
of the range, but the Lieutenant decided to do so,
nevertheless, and so he took up the Platte instead
of going down it. The party found traveling a
pleasure, as the country was scenically magnificent,
and they were not confronted by those obstacles
they had heretofore encountered.

One day they chanced upon a grizzly bear and
one of the men attempted to lasso it, but after a
hard chase had to give it up, the bear escaping in a
thicket. As they continued up the Platte the valley
narrowed until it became a gorge, and entering this
they were led into another valley some thirty miles
in diameter and surrounded by snow-clad moun¬
tains, the foothills of which were robed in pine. It
was a grand place for the animals to feed, and they
made the most of the opportunity. No buffaloes
were seen, a band of Arapahoes having preceded the
Fremont party. It is in this region that the Platte
gathers its first waters and no river could have a
more beautiful birthplace.

Exploring the waters of the park for some time
the Lieutenant crossed the mountains through a
pass "where a wagon could travel at ease” and was
on the western side of the range in a valley then
known as Old Park, where rises the Grand River,
one of the principal branches of the Colorado. Flere
the party ran into about thirty Arapahoes, who said
they had come from a village a few miles above.
While the usual presents were made, the Indians

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

147

were disposed to be unfriendly and rode to their
camp at top speed. Fremont scented trouble and
went at once into the bottom lands of the river,
where he found an open space with the water on
one side and the overflowed land on the other.

They had no more than made these preparations
when two hundred warriors appeared painted and
armed. The Lieutenant planted the American flag
in front of his men and a parley ensued, which ter¬
minated in a truce. Twenty Sioux were with the
band, among whom was an old chief, who informed
Fremont that before they came out the Indians had
held a council of war, the majority deciding to at¬
tack, while a strong minority opposed this because
they had seen the party a year previous on the plains
and knew positively that the men were not giving
assistance to their enemies. It appeared that these
Indians suspected all traders whom they met on the
western side of the mountains to be against them.
Possibly some former experience had given them
this erroneous impression.

The Lieutenant accompanied them to their vil¬
lage, where they said there was a ford where he
could cross the river, but was deceived in this re¬
spect. He kept strict guard and camped with sev¬
eral sloughs between him and the village; but the
Indians crowded into his camp and, despite all his
vigilance, succeeded in stealing a number of things
from his equipment. He was thankful when the
time arrived to pack up and go, as in spite of their
protestations of friendship these redskins were not
to be trusted. They continued up the Grand River
for about eight miles, when they ferried their goods

148

A MAN UNAFRAID

across it and at night reached the southern fork of
the Grand. The hunters were kept busy, as the buf¬
faloes roamed about in great herds. The river was
soon hedged in by the pine-covered mountains, and
after a ride of several hours they came into a valley
where the stream forked into three branches, Fre¬
mont following up the middle one where the trail
was exceptionally good. A fire was observed on the
opposite side of the valley soon after they had
camped and was immediately extinguished the mo¬
ment their own was lighted. The next morning they
found the fire to have been that of six trappers, who
had ventured into the mountains after beaver. Two
of their number had met death at the hands of the
Indians — one recently killed by the Arapahoes. As
they wished to join Fremont, his hunters returned
with them to their encampment, while he went on
up the valley, the trappers catching up with him
later in the day.

After a climb of several hours through a pine
forest the party reached the top of the dividing
ridge at an elevation of eleven thousand two hun¬
dred feet. The river at this point had spread itself
out into various branches, having its source nearly
on the summit of the ridge. Below they saw a val¬
ley green with verdure — South Park. Descending
to a small creek they camped for the night, the wa¬
ters of the stream being the remotest head of the
South Fork of the Platte. In the afternoon of the
next day Fremont saw a mounted party coming
down the mountainside whom he took to be Arapa¬
hoes. He made a stop on one of the willow-covered
islands of the river, getting in as favorable a position

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

149

as possible in case of hostilities. The cavalcade
proved to be a party of Ute women, who told the
Lieutenant that their men were engaged in a bat¬
tle with the Arapahoes on the farther side of the
ridge. Their cries and lamentations gave evidence
that some of the Utes had been killed. They said
that about daylight the Arapahoes charged into
their village, in which there were three hundred
warriors, and made off with some horses, after kill¬
ing the chief and three others. The Utes went in
pursuit, and the battle followed with its termina¬
tion in doubt. The weeping squaws implored Fre¬
mont to go to the aid of their men, but such a thing
was impossible as in a fight between two Indian
tribes the whites could take no sides. Nevertheless
it was quite exciting to feel that within a few hun¬
dred yards a battle was taking place involving five
hundred combatants. The sharp crack of rifles was
clearly audible, and as the party passed along the
ridge numerous horsemen were active in rescuing
the wounded and bringing in the dead.

On putting some fifteen miles between himself
and the belligerents, Fremont went into camp in a
strongly fortified position among the pines. Late
the next day he saw Pike’s Peak and felt that he was
approaching civilization. On June 24th, 1844, he
bade good-by to the river and traveling southeast
through a mountainous region for several days came
to the eastern base of the range, arriving in a short
time at Pueblo, where he met some old friends. They
reached Bent’s Fort on July ist, where the party was
enthusiastically received. Walker and Carson re¬
mained at the fort now that the danger of travel had

150

A MAN UNAFRAID

been eliminated, while the Lieutenant pursued his
homeward way down the Arkansas "along a broad
wagon road.” The river gradually widened as he
went on, and one night, after a spectacular display
of thunder and lightning, the rain fell so heavily as
to cause a sudden rise of the water, which over¬
flowed the banks and, sweeping into camp, covered
much of the baggage. The perishable collections he
had made were almost ruined, the labor of weary
months destroyed.

On the 6th he left the Arkansas, crossing in a
northeasterly direction, and on the 9 th camped on
the Smoky Hill Fork. Following down this stream
he reached a Pawnee village. He had no hesitancy
in meeting these Indians, as they received a regular
annuity from the government, but was treated in a
very unfriendly, not to say insolent, manner. He
distributed the remaining part of his goods among
them, which in no way satisfied their greed, and
after considerable difficulty in getting away, camped
fifteen miles further on. In a report to the War De¬
partment from Major Wharton, made some time
afterward, it was learned that the Pawnees had
fully decided to attack Fremont the night follow¬
ing his arrival, but some dissension arose among
them which prevented it.

Except for the accidental shooting of one of the
men, Alexis Ayot, by which he lost the use of a leg,
nothing occurred to mar the trip to the "little town
of Kansas on the banks of the Missouri.” They had
been gone fourteen months and during this time
there was not a serious case of sickness among them,
which proves that despite hunger and hardship, a

ACROSS SIERRA NEVADA

151

life in the open is surely conducive to good health.
On August 6th the Lieutenant arrived in St. Louis,
where his party disbanded. Mrs. Fremont was
awaiting his return with anxiety, not having heard
from him since he left the lower Columbia the pre¬
vious November. The young Siwash boy, who had
managed to stay the trip out, accompanied him to
Washington, where he was sent to school and "saw
much of the whites.” Later the Indian Department
sent him to Philadelphia, where he learned to read
and write and to speak English with some fluency.
The Lieutenant’s saddle horse, Sacramento, a beau¬
tiful animal, noted for his courage and agility, was
sent to Kentucky, where the "blue grass grows.”
The horse was a gift from Captain Sutter and was
prized very highly. He lived to carry his master
through some tight places in the years that fol¬
lowed. Thus his second expedition was concluded,
terminating one of the longest and most thorough
explorations in the history of America, and one
which proves for all time the bravery and determi¬
nation of Fremont.

CHAPTER VI

T he T bird Expedition

In Washington the Lieutenant found that nu¬
merous changes had taken place in his absence. Both
Mr. Nicollet and Mr. Hassler had died, as had also
Mr. Benton’s colleague, Senator Linn of Missouri.
This was regarded as unfortunate for Oregon, as
he was an avowed champion of the Northwest Ter¬
ritory at a time when they were decidedly few.
Fremont, no longer on the trail, now enjoyed the
comforts of home life, and to add to his pleasure, his
mother came on from the South and remained with
him until the winter set in.

The making up of the maps was left to Preuss,
who was comfortably situated in a home of his own
where he could look over the river and smoke his
pipe in peace. The Lieutenant had for his assistant
John C. Hubbard, and the two of them spent each
day in computing the various calculations. A hu¬
morous incident occurred in this connection, which
goes to show that the zeal of scientists may some¬
times lead to unexpected consequences. To find
whether or not a sextant was accurate by measuring
it against other observations they went to a church
near by where there was a large stone — a carriage
step — on which to set the horizon. In waiting for
the stars to come into position, Fremont rested him¬
self on the ground, leaning against the stone. In a
few days a deacon of the church called on Senator
Benton to inform him that he had seen his son-in-

(152)

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

153

law lying in front of the house of worship for sev¬
eral nights in a beastly state of intoxication and
refusing the aid of an apparently sober companion.
In a heated manner Mr. Benton explained the mat¬
ter to the confusion of the meddlesome deacon.

In preparing the report of his journey, Mrs. Fre¬
mont worked with her husband, taking keen inter¬
est in the task. She was made to realize some of the
many dangers that lie in wait for the traveler in the
wilderness of the Far West. The completed report,
which was given to Congress on March ist, 1845,
and which was responsible for the occupation by the
Mormons of the Great Salt Lake Valley in 1847,
created a sensation. The report of the first expedi¬
tion was combined with it, and Congress ordered
ten thousand copies to be printed. At home and
abroad it was eagerly seized upon by publishers,
and some of these editions ran into the thousands,
far exceeding that printed by the government. The
newspapers of the country contained full accounts
of the Lieutenant’s achievement, and from every¬
where came words of praise for the daring explorer.
He was, indeed, the man of the hour as he deserved
to be. Through the recommendation of General
Winfield Scott, at that time head of the army. Presi¬
dent Tyler appointed him Captain by brevet "to
rank as such from the 3 ist day of July, 1844, for
gallant and meritorious services in two expeditions
commanded by himself; the first to the Rocky
Mountains, which terminated October 17th, 1842,
and the second beyond those mountains, which ter¬
minated July 3 ist, 1 844.”

Accompanied by Senator Benton, the Captain

154

A MAN UNAFRAID

called upon the newly elected chief executive, Presi¬
dent Polk, and during the course of the conversa¬
tion mentioned that he had recently examined a
map in the Library of Congress which gave Great
Salt Lake as being connected by three rivers with
the Pacific Ocean. At first the President seemed
skeptical about the accuracy of Fremont’s informa¬
tion and was not at all sure but that the rivers were
where the map showed them to be.

Fremont had returned to Washington filled with
a sense of California’s unsurpassed climate and its
wonderful beauty and fertility. It was like an en¬
chanted land, the lure of which was irresistible.
Stretching for nearly eight hundred miles along the
Pacific it lay practically unused, waiting for settlers
and the commerce of the world. It was an ideal
place for a home, and the Captain determined to
find one there in that sunset land. On his return,
and after the publication of his report, California
became of as much interest among the officials in
Washington as did Oregon. The day the report was
handed in. Congress admitted Texas into the Union,
which action, according to Mexican declarations,
was the signal for war. While war did not begin
immediately, the existing condition could not con¬
tinue for long. Daniel Webster was against the an¬
nexation of Texas and any trouble with Mexico,
but he had a friendly feeling for San Francisco Bay,
holding that it would be "twenty times as valuable
to the United States as all of Texas.” Webster in¬
vited Fremont to dine with him in order to discuss
California, which he called "a sandy strip of land
along the Pacific, with here and there an oasis of

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

155

fertile soil, offering no inducement for settlers ex¬
cept the fine harbors indented upon its coast.” Mr.
Webster was also sure that “England will never
permit Mexico to cede California or any part of it
to us.” Fremont does not say whether or not their
dinner conversation in any way changed Webster’s
point of view, but we venture to say it gave him
something to think about.

President Polk was determined to acquire Cali¬
fornia in an honorable and just manner, believing,
with George Bancroft, that Mexico could not long
hold that territory under existing conditions. There
were a number of high officials, including Bancroft,
Buchanan, and Senator Dix, a member of the Sen¬
ate military committee, who conferred with Sena¬
tor Benton. The question of acquiring California
was the chief subject of discussion, and Fremont
was always present. Valuable information regard¬
ing Mexican affairswas given them by Baron Gerolt,
the Prussian Minister, who had been Minister to
Mexico for twenty years. It was the Baron who
received positive information from the City of
Mexico that orders had been sent by the Mexican
government to the commanding general of the ter¬
ritory of California “to drive Fremont from any
part of that territory in which he might appear.”
There were rumors of war in the air and knowledge
of great activity among Mexican troops, with a
general movement toward the Rio Grande. This
information was conveyed to Secretary Buchanan
by the Prussian Minister.

After the report of the second expedition had
been made, a third was in contemplation. It was

156

A MAN UNAFRAID

decided that this should be directed to that section
of the Rocky Mountains which gives rise to the Ar¬
kansas, Rio Grande, and Colorado rivers. The Cap¬
tain was to complete his examination of Great Salt
Lake and vicinity and to make a survey of the Cas¬
cades and the Sierra Nevada, "so as to ascertain the
lines of communication through the mountains to
the ocean in that latitude.” Of course the eventu¬
alities of war were taken into consideration as the
greater part of the work was to be conducted on
Mexican soil. At that time the United States laid
claim to less than one-half of the territory west of
the Mississippi, while Great Britain was trying to
retain a hold on Oregon, and had California in mind
as a possible possession. Mexico would undoubtedly
favor English protection for California in case she
should get into war with the United States. That
California would eventually fall to us or England
seemed a certainty, and the coterie surrounding
Senator Benton was determined that it should be
ours. All the probabilities and possibilities were
carefully discussed pending the third expedition,
and the part Fremont was to play was well under¬
stood. No definite instructions were given him; he
must act according to circumstances, using his own
discretion. Concerning this he says:

"My private instructions were, if needed, to foil
England by carrying the war now imminent with
Mexico into the territory of California.”

Although he did not carry a howitzer along, it
would have been far more appropriate in this expe¬
dition than in the former one, for it was not to be
made entirely in the interest of science. The aims

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

157

and intentions of the government were clear in Fre¬
mont’s mind.

In leaving for his third expedition he was accom¬
panied from Washington by Dodson and the Siwash
boy, who was anxious to return to his home in Ore¬
gon. Mrs. Fremont, who had planned to go to St.
Louis with the Captain, remained at home on ac¬
count of her mother’s illness. Edward M. Kern of
Philadelphia went as topographer, Preuss preferring
to stay in his comfortable home by the Potomac.
There were sufficient funds provided for the expe¬
dition, and in view of the uncertainty of conditions
the force was much larger than before. Naturally a
topographical party entering territory belonging to
another nation should be amply large and be well
armed. The Captain bought a dozen rifles, which he
was to give as prizes to the best marksmen in his
party, all of which was a great acquisition to topo¬
graphical work, marksmanship being an essential
qualification. The fine horse, Sacramento, was
brought to him from the grass fields of Kentucky.
In St. Louis a number of his old men joined him,
including Godey, Walker, Basil Lajeunesse, Theo¬
dore Talbot, and Lieutenants Abert and Peck of
the Topographical Corps. From the Delaware In¬
dians he chose twelve men, among them two chiefs,
Swanok and Sagundai. These Indians were known
to be excellent hunters. Another member was James
McDowell, a nephew of Mrs. Fremont.

But few days were given to St. Louis, as it was
getting late in the season and he was anxious to be on
the way. No time was spent on the prairie, as that
was not an object for examination. His real interest

158

A MAN UNAFRAID

lay beyond the Rockies, beyond the Sierra Nevada,
in that beautiful land of fruits and flowers glorified
by the setting sun. His heart was in California,
where he planned a permanent home, and where in
life’s decline he might sit beneath his own vine and
fig tree and drink in the beauty that unfolded itself
to his eyes.

On reaching Bent’s Fort the final preparations
for the journey were made. Here a detached party
was formed, commanded by Lieutenant Abert, with
Fitzpatrick as guide, which was to make a survey
of the country to the south, "embracing the Ca¬
nadian and other waters.” This party was not to
remain out during the winter. A note was sent to
Kit Carson, who, with his friend Richard Owens,
was establishing a stock farm on a tributary of the
Arkansas River. Carson did not hesitate to join
Fremont and sold everything he had, coming on to
Bent’s Fort at once and bringing Owens with him.

"I received them both with great satisfaction,”
writes the Captain. "That Owens was a good man,
it is enough to say that he and Carson were friends.
Cool, brave, and of good judgment, a good hunter
and a good shot, experienced in mountain life, he
was an acquisition, and proved valuable throughout
the campaign. Godey had proved himself during
the preceding journey, which had brought out his
distinguishing qualities of resolute and aggressive
courage. . . . The three, under Napoleon, might
have become Marshals, chosen as he chose men.
Carson, of great courage, quick and complete per¬
ception, taking in at a glance the advantages as
well as the chance for defeat; Godey, insensible to

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

159

danger, of perfect coolness and stubborn resolution;
Owens, equal in courage to the others and in cool¬
ness equal to Godey.”

On the 1 6th of August Fremont left Bent’s with
sixty "self-reliant men, equal to any emergency
liable to occur and willing to meet it.” Here, indeed,
was a topographical party capable of doing any
amount of scientific work, especially on Mexican
soil. In the trio above mentioned the name of Kit
Carson stands out today in bold relief against the
background of Western exploration and adventure.
He became a famous figure in the West and will be
remembered by the many landmarks that bear his
name.

With an expedition so thoroughly armed and
equipped, the Captain had no fear of molestation
from any source, and set his face resolutely to the
West, not realizing, perhaps, the important part he
was destined to play in the conquest of California.

Following up the Arkansas to the Great Canyon,
or Royal Gorge, the party left the river for a time,
passing over a "bench of the mountain” and arriv¬
ing September 3rd at the headwaters of the Arkan¬
sas on Mexican territory. Here a herd of buffaloes
was seen and several of the animals were killed for
meat. Reaching Piney River, they continued to the
Grand, thence to the White and on to Green River,
crossing at the mouth of the Uinta. They arrived at
Utah Lake October loth, camping on the shore,
and on the 13 th reached Great Salt Lake, in which
region two weeks were passed in observing the gen¬
eral topography of the country and fixing various
points of interest. In company with Carson the

i6o

A MAN UNAFRAID

Captain visited an island in the lake where he killed
a number of antelope. On returning to camp he
found an old Ute Indian awaiting him, who de¬
manded payment for the antelope, declaring that
all the animals on the island belonged to him. He
reproached the Captain bitterly for the wrong done
him; so to pacify the alleged owner of wild ante¬
lope he was given a number of presents, including a
knife and some tobacco. He was perfectly satisfied
with the outcome of his ruse and departed in high
glee.

To the west there were only mountains covered
with snow, and some time was spent in deciding the
course to pursue. Near the far edge of the desert
was the peak of a mountain some sixty miles distant.
To reach this required a journey over an arid plain
where the Indians said there was not a drop of water
to be found. They tried to discourage Fremont
from attempting to cross it, which feat they claimed
had never been accomplished. Apparently none of
the men were acquainted with the region, yet
Walker, who was his guide, is said to have made a
trip in 1833 to the head of the Humboldt, and aft¬
erward to have been lost in this very desert. At any
rate Fremont could learn nothing of the country,
so he decided to find out about it for himself. As the
distant peak was in his intended line of travel he
engaged an Indian to guide him, meantime arrang¬
ing with Carson and Archambeau to take a pack
mule, some provisions and water and set out for the
mountain in the night — ^he to follow the next day
— making a dry camp on the plain. The advance
party was to make a signal by smoke in case water

JOHN DRAKE SLOAT

Commodore United States Navy and governor of California. Born
at Sloatbury, New York, July 26, 1781; died at New Brighton,
New York, November 28, 1867; came to California in command
of the Pacific squadron, arriving at Monterey, July 2, 1846, in
the Savannah (flagship), the Cyane and Levant having preceded
him, and the Portsmcndh was at San Francisco. He landed 2 50 men
July 7th, raised the American flag and issued a proclamation
assuming command of California.

V •• .

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

i6i

was discovered. The Captain left in the afternoon
and found the desert, save for an occasional bunch
of sage brush, to be as "bare and smooth as if water
had been standing upon it.” Night came on and
with it that sense of loneliness and awe the desert
inspires. The stars bloomed out and seemed very
near, while the travelers were engulfed in a vast
solitude with no sound to break the awful stillness.
The Indian guide became terrified; his knees shook
under him, and he "wobbled about like a drunken
man.” He was not a Ute, but a high-class Digger,
and finding him absolutely useless, he was given his
reward and set free. Camp was made some time be¬
fore daylight and fires of sage brush were lighted
to signal the Carson party.

In the early morning Archambeau rode in with
the news they had found water and grass at the foot
of the mountain, with wood in abundance. Starting
out at once they reached the place toward which
their course was directed late in the afternoon. To
the friendly mountain Fremont gave the name of
Pilot’s Peak. Later this peak marked the short cut
to California known as "Hasting’s cut-off.” In
order to permit the animals to rest after the arduous
desert trip they remained here a day. On Novem¬
ber I St they resumed their journey through the
ridges of the basin and camped at a spring, which,
according to the Captain’s calculations, was not far
from the present town of Shafter, Nevada.

On account of the approaching winter with its
inevitable fall of snow in the Sierra, no time was
wasted in examination of the Great Basin. The
main object was to reach California without delay.

i62

A MAN UNAFRAID

On the 8 th they camped on a small stream, which
Fremont called Crane’s Branch after one of his
Delawares. This stream, together with another,
formed a river which was given the name Fium-
boldt.

"I am given by myself,” says Fremont, "the
honor of being the first to place his great name on
the map of this continent.”

Fiere the Captain divided his party, giving Kern
charge of the main body with instructions to follow
down and survey the Fiumboldt and its valley to
their termination in what was called "the sink.” Fie
was then to continue along the eastern slope of the
Sierra to a lake, which Fremont named after Walker,
who was to be the guide of the party. The two
expeditions were to meet at the lake, which was
near to the Captain’s trail of 1 844. Their route lay
along the river all the way, where there would be
plenty of feed for the animals. Fremont took ten
men with him, among whom were several Dela¬
wares. Fie struck out in a westerly direction, cross¬
ing the ridges and ravines of a not wholly inviting
region. Once while traveling along the base of a
mountain he saw a light smoke arising from a ra¬
vine, and approaching the spot quietly, discovered
a lone Indian standing before a sage brush fire cook¬
ing some squirrels in an earthen pot. Fie had not
heard the party, and knowing that escape was im¬
possible, tried to appear pleased, but his convulsive
start and the wild look in his eyes showed that he
thought his end had come. It probably would had
the Delawares been alone. Fie offered them some
of his squirrels, but the proffered gift was declined

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

163

and the men moved on. They had gone but a short
distance when Fremont discovered that his Dela¬
wares had taken the Indian’s bow and arrows, and
he made them return these immediately.

Another night, while they were camped by a
spring on a mountainside, enjoying their pipes. Car-
son gave a quick exclamation and leaped to his feet,
pointing toward some object in the light of the
camp fire. An old Indian woman, "wrinkled and
brown as a bag of leather,” with skinny hands shad¬
ing her eyes, stood looking at them — a weird pic¬
ture in the flickering light and one which gave the
famous scout a start when he first saw her. She was
nearly naked and her gray hair hung in a mat over
her bare shoulders. She had mistaken the camp for
that of her own people, and when she saw the faces
of the white men she was stricken dumb with fear.
Instantly she turned to run, but the men seized her
and brought her within the range of the fire. After
a few moments she was able to talk and gave them
to understand that her people had turned her out
to die on account of her old age. She was very hun¬
gry and was given a piece of an antelope that Carson
had killed. No sooner had the meat been placed in
her hands than she slipped away in the darkness like
a wild animal. The next morning her tracks were
found at the little spring near by where she had
been during the night. She was one of the earth’s
unfortunates — too old to work and turned out to
die.

The country hereabout had a special interest for
Fremont, and he lingered for two successive days
making observations. He then went on toward

164

A MAN UNAFRAID

Walker’s Lake, where he was to meet the rest of his
party. On the way he met a dozen or more Indians,
who passed him by in single file without looking up
or saying a word. He thought this a strange pro¬
ceeding and could account for it only on the ground
that they either regarded the whites as intruders,
or had suffered some wrong at the hands of other
travelers and held it against white men in general.

"In this region,” says Fremont, "the condition
of the Indian is nearly akin to that of the lower
animals. Here they are really wild men. In his wild
state the Indian lives to get food. This is his busi¬
ness. The superfluous part of his life, that portion
that can be otherwise employed, is devoted to some
kind of warfare. From this lowest condition, where
he is found as the simplest element of existence, up
to the highest in which he is found on this conti¬
nent it is the same thing. In the Great Basin, where
nearly naked he traveled on foot and lived in the
sage brush, I found him in the most elementary
form; the men living alone, the women living alone,
but all after food. . . . And the same on the moun¬
tains and prairies, where the wild Indians were
found in their highest condition, where they had
horses and lived in lodges. The labor of their lives
was to get something to eat. The occupation of
the women was in gleaning from the earth every¬
thing of vegetable or insect life; the occupation of
the men was to kill every animal they could for
food and every man of every other tribe for pleas¬
ure. And in every attempt to civilize, these are the
two lines on which he is to be met.”

On the 24th of November Fremont was joined

THE THIPUD EXPEDITION

165

on the lake by the other members of his party. Hav¬
ing in mind the trip of the previous year across the
snows of the Sierra, where the animals met with
so much suffering, he decided again to divide the
caravan, sending Kern with the main division south¬
ward and around the lower point of the Sierra to
the San Joaquin Valley. Walker was to be the guide
and the two parties were to meet "at a little lake in
the valley of a river called the Lake Fork.” Choos¬
ing fifteen of his best men he set out to cross the
mountains before the snow fell. He was soon on
familiar ground near to his trail of the previous
year, and on December ist came to the stream he
called the Salmon Trout River, now the Truckee.
His route led up this river for some distance, when
he seems to have crossed to another stream, now
known as Cold Creek, where he camped in the
neighborhood of Donner Lake. Before sunrise the
next morning the party climbed the "rocky ridge
which faces the eastern side” and were soon on the
crest of the divide over seven thousand feet. Fre¬
mont mentions the emigrant road passing this point
which follows down a fork of the Bear River, ulti¬
mately coming out in the Sacramento Valley. So
far they had been favored by good weather, which
was very fortunate. But little snow was seen from
the pass, and this was on the summits of the higher
peaks. As the emigrant road was quite rough the
Captain turned to the south, camping in a mountain
meadow where the grass was fresh and green. He
was now entering that section of California where
the vegetation was wonderful, where, should snow
fall, he could easily make his way to the valley. The

i66

A MAN UNAFRAID

route led through a great pine forest, where the trees
stood so close together as to make a soft twilight
underneath. As they descended the mountains the
landscape changed in appearance. There was much
oak, the acorns of which furnished the principal
food of the Indians. The acorns of the white oak are
sometimes two inches in length and in taste strongly
resemble Italian chestnuts. The number of these
trees, with a green undergrowth of grass, gave to
the country the aspect of a huge cultivated park.

On the 8 th they were at an elevation of only
five hundred feet and camped on a stream which
was named Hamilton Creek. He found numerous
Indian villages through the oak belt and observed
many holes in large granite bowlders used as mortars
in which to grind the acorns. Because of the beauty
of the country, the abundance of game and the lux¬
urious grass Fremont was tempted to make early
camp and consequently they were four days in
reaching the valley. December 9 th they arrived at
Grimes’s ranch on the American River near Sutter’s
Fort. Says Fremont:

"Captain Sutter received me with the same
friendly hospitality which had been so delightful
to us the year before. I found that our previous
visit had created some excitement among the Mexi¬
can authorities. But to their inquiries he had ex¬
plained that I had been engaged in a geographical
survey of the interior and had been driven to force
my way through the snow of the mountains simply
to obtain a refuge and food where I knew it could
be had at his place, which was by common report
known to me.”

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

167

In his series of articles published in the Century
Magazine John Bid well says that the "first notice
of Fremont’s return to California was his sudden
appearance, with Kit Carson, at the Fort.” It seems
that Bidwell was in charge of the fort and he told
the Captain what he could and could not furnish
him with in the way of mules and provisions and,
"saying something in a low tone to Kit Carson,
Fremont rose and left without saying good day.”
Bidwell also says he called on the Captain, who
"stated in a very formal manner that he was the
officer of one government and Sutter the officer of
another; that difficulties existed between these gov¬
ernments and hence his inference that I, represent¬
ing Sutter, was not willing to accommodate him.”
However, Fremont writes that "being ourselves al¬
ready recruited by the easy descent into the valley
I did not need to delay long here. A few days suf¬
ficed to purchase some animals and a small drove of
cattle, with other needed supplies.” So it is evident
that Fremont did get accommodations at Sutter’s
after all, Bidwell to the contrary notwithstanding.

On the 14th he left New Helvetia to meet the
rest of his party at the place designated. His route
south was practically the same as that of the pre¬
vious year, involving no particular hardships and
free from exciting incidents save what promised to
be a lively fight with Horsethief Indians. Owens,
Maxwell, and two Delawares were in advance when
they came suddenly upon an Indian village. There
was firing and a great commotion heard by Fre¬
mont, and hastening forward he found his men on
a small hill among the rocks with a hundred Indians

i68

A MAN UNAFRAID

surrounding them all yelling like demons. The men
had dismounted in order to fight more effectively,
so their horses were in danger of being captured. As
one of the savages ran to get them he was stopped
quickly by a bullet from Owens’s gun. The Indians
then drew back toward their village and the Cap¬
tain took advantage of their retreat with an occa¬
sional shot to let them know he was very much alive.
Later they followed, and hiding behind rocks and
trees called the men all the names not to be found
in the Spanish dictionary, telling them that there
was a big village in the mountains, that they had
sent for their chief, and when he arrived they in¬
tended to make a killing. Fremont posted guards
around camp that night and before daylight he
heard the Indian women and children going toward
the mountains. There was no further disturbance,
but once in the night a Delaware fired at a wolf
that jumped over a log.

The Horsethief Indians were formerly connected
with the missions. When these were broken up by
Mexico they took to the mountains, preying upon
the various ranchos and drivingoff the horses, which
they killed for food. Being familiar with the coun¬
try and all the settlements because of their associa¬
tion with the missions, these Indians were far more
daring and dangerous than those who had fixed
habitations. They were a constant menace to the
settlers as they made a business of steaHng, depend¬
ing on it as a source of livelihood.

Fremont felt that safety lay in traveling through
the more open country of the valley and accord¬
ingly changed his course from the foothill region

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

169

to that of the lower levels. They had gone but a
short distance when an Indian was observed riding
toward them at full speed. Maxwell was ahead, and
knowing that the rider was intending to inform
others of his tribe to intercept the whites, Maxwell
headed in his direction. As the Captain and Godey
appeared on the scene a duel was taking place be¬
tween the two. The Indian was armed with bow
and arrows and Maxwell with a pistol. Perhaps, it
is unnecessary to state that the pistol won.

Continuing southward the Captain kept a few
men along the foothills as scouts until he reached
the Kings River country where he was to meet the
others of his party under the guidance of Walker.
They had not arrived and he passed the time in mak¬
ing some near-by explorations. The Indians were
always close at hand, and in spite of a strict watch,
succeeded in killing a mule that had strayed into a
little ravine in the vicinity of the camp. He climbed
the mountains to an elevation of ten thousand feet
and a snowstorm added to the zest of the experi¬
ence. Returning to the valley he searched for the
Walker party, but without success, so he concluded
they must be traveling at a leisurely gait and enjoy¬
ing the fine hunting along the way. Weary from
waiting he set out for Sutter’s, where he arrived on
January 15th; remaining there four days he went
to Yerba Buena (San Francisco) taking eight of his
men with him. From Captain Sutter, who was a
Mexican magistrate, he obtained a passport to Mon¬
terey. While in San Francisco he visited the Amer¬
ican Consul, Liedesdorff, and was taken by a
Captain Hinckley to see the quicksilver mine at

170

A MAN UNAFRAID

New Almaden. His host insisted on making part
of the trip by water, but they were becalmed on San
Francisco Bay and spent a cold and dreary night
amid the rushes near Alviso. However, the visit
to the mine, with its many interesting features, well
repaid him for the unpleasant hours in an open
boat. In a letter written to Mrs. Fremont, dated
January 26, 1846, he describes briefly his journey
thus far and adds that his "hair is growing gray be¬
fore its time,” which is not at all strange consider¬
ing the hardships he had endured and the perils he
had faced.

Accompanied by Consul Liedesdorff the Captain
left for Monterey, but somewhere beyond the Mis¬
sion Dolores they lost their way in the darkness and
fog, at last arriving at the rancho of Don Fran¬
cisco Sanchez, where they stopped for the night.
He enjoyed the ride down the Santa Clara valley
with its green fields and many spreading oaks. On
reaching Monterey he went immediately to see the
American Consul, Thomas O. Larkin. His object
in visiting Monterey was to obtain permission
to bring his party into the settlement for the
purpose of repairing and adding to his equipment.
He next paid a visit to the office of Governor Pio
Pico, who was in Los Angeles. He then saw the
Commanding General, Don Jose Castro, and ex-
Governor Alvarado. He explained to them that he
was engaged in surveying the nearest route from
the United States to the Pacific Ocean for com¬
mercial purposes; that he was under the direction
of the Topographical Engineers, and that the men
with him were not soldiers but citizens. He re-

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

171

framed from mentioning that each one was a dead
shot. Permission was readily granted and he was
cordially treated by the Mexican authorities.

By the middle of February the party was all to¬
gether, camped about thirteen miles south of the
present city of San Jose. The reason for the ap¬
parent delay of the main division in meeting
Fremont at Kings River was due to a misunder¬
standing with Walker in regard to the river in ques¬
tion. He thought that Fremont referred to another
river to which no name had been given. It was
here that his party expected to meet the Captain
and lingered for some time. Fremont gave a name
to this river, calling it Kern after his topographer.
To one of the lakes he gave the name of Owens.
It is from the Owens River that Los Angeles now
receives its water supply. Walker began searching
for the leader of the expedition and by chance ran
into Carson, who was out looking for him. They
were now reunited and happy in the balmy Santa
Clara Valley, where the sun shown brightly, and
where, from the carpet of green nature had spread,
the poppy lifted its cup of gold.

“Many Californians visited the camp,’* writes
the Captain, “and very friendly relations grew up
with us. One day amusements were going on as
usual, the Californians showing our men their ad¬
mirable horsemanship. One of the large vultures,
often seen floating about overhead, had been
brought down with a broken wing by one of our
rifles. This was the point on which we excelled as
the others excelled in perfect horsemanship. The
vulture was sitting on the frame of a cart to which

172

A MAN UNAFRAID

he had been tied; he had gotten over his hurt and
would have been treated as a pet, but his savage
nature would not permit of any approach. By ac¬
cident a Californian had gotten a fall and the whole
camp was laughing and shouting and Owens, his
mouth wide open, was backing toward the cart to
rest his arm on the wheel, forgetful of the vulture.
The vulture with long, red neck stretched out was
seizing the opportunity — we all saw it and Owens
saw our amusement, but not quite in time to escape
the grip of the vulture. It was quite a picture —
the vulture lying in wait and Owens’s unconscious¬
ness, and the hearty laugh which cheered the bird’s
exploit.”

At that time the Santa Cruz Mountains were
known as Wild Cat Ridge and Fremont’s curiosity
was aroused by the stories of the big trees that grow
on the west side of the range. Accordingly on
March 22nd he resumed his examination of the
California country by making a trip into that sec¬
tion. He probably visited the Big Basin above Santa
Cruz for he speaks of the giant redwoods, some
attaining a diameter of fourteen feet and being
over two hundred feet in height. He must have
enjoyed the days spent in these redwood groves
that "make of the night a dusky slave forever held
in thrall,” where the sunlight falls in yellow shafts
between the huge trunks and where the Solitude
weaves her garment of mosses in the soft dusk of
the forest isles.

Fremont remained on the upper portion of the
mountains for several days at an elevation of two
thousand feet. He always had a home in mind and

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

173

was attracted by first one place and then another.
He liked the pine woods and their fragrance; he
was charmed by the soft air of the Santa Clara and
the wonderful beauty of its oaks and flowers, but
it seemed to him that no home would be ideal if he
could not feel the salty tang of the sea and listen to
the voice of the waves. The Santa Cruz shore pos¬
sessed all of the requisites he demanded for a home.
It was a place to which he could bring his mother,
for here was "the invigorating salt breeze which
brings with it renewed strength.” So on the beach
at Santa Cruz he indulged in daydreams, while the
pilgrim seas marched in freighted with music and
mystery.

On February 25 th the party was near the north¬
western point of Monterey Bay. A heavy southeast
storm set in, which may be expected at this season
of the year. It lasted several days and when the
weather cleared they proceeded to Hartnell’s ranch,
twenty-five miles from the town of Monterey. At
this particular time there was much talk of Mexico
expelling Americans from California. It was re¬
ported that unless they should become Mexican citi¬
zens their property would be taken from them. The
previous July the governor had been ordered to halt
incoming Americans. Those who had obtained
land, as they thought in a legal manner, felt much
uneasiness over conditions. The settlers began to
consider the best way to offset this manifest injus¬
tice and there was much agitation among them.
The spirit of independence had grown very strong
in California with the Americans most pronounced
in their opposition to Mexico. In fact, revolution

174

A MAN UNAFRAID

was in the air and Fremont’s arrival with his sixty
sharpshooters seemed to precipitate matters. He
came into the territory at the opportune time to
stir things up.

The Captain was now on his way to a pass at the
**head of the western branch of the Salinas River”
opening into the San Joaquin Valley — probably
Pacheco Pass — when the quiet of the camp was
upset by the appearance of a cavalry officer, Lieu¬
tenant Chavez, and two men. They rode up very
briskly, the Lieutenant presenting a communication
from the Commanding General at Monterey. The
officer was needlessly abrupt, assuming a demeanor
not calculated to win the esteem of the sensitive
Captain Fremont. The letter contained an order
for the expedition’s commander to move out of the
territory as rapidly as possible, otherwise he would
be summarily ejected by the Mexican troops. For
a moment Fremont was dumfounded, but recov¬
ering his composure, he informed the curt Lieuten¬
ant that such an order was unworthy a man in
Castro’s position, and to tell the Commanding Gen¬
eral that he absolutely refused to obey a command
that was insulting to both himself and his govern¬
ment. He felt that he had conducted himself in a
most gentlemanly manner, as had his men, and that
the order from Castro, with whom he had main¬
tained very cordial relations, was wholly unwar¬
ranted and decidedly rude. Of course had the Cap¬
tain done the polite thing, he would have traveled
out of the territory as rapidly as possible, hardly
giving his men time to cinch up their saddles ; but
this was not Fremont. He was not the man to be

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

175

driven. As we have said heretofore, he was both
temperamental and impulsive. There was much
of the sensitive poet in his makeup and, as a rule,
poets are not creatures to take peremptory orders.
He resented this one as a gross insult and his men
took the same view, announcing themselves as ready
to back him in any course he should adopt. It may
be said that afterward Fremont learned that Castro
had acted in accordance with instructions from the
Mexican government. No doubt the Captain knew
that Castro would not care to oppose his body of
sixty marksmen and felt quite safe in sending Offi¬
cer Chavez back to his general with the refusal to
obey the command, which probably caused an ex¬
plosion in military headquarters.

The next day the Captain and his men marched
to the high hills east of Salinas and took up their
position on Gavilan Peak (locally known as Gabi-
lan) , which rises to a height of about two thousand
feet and which is almost due south from the town
of San Juan. In recent years this peak bears the
name of the intrepid explorer. The Native Sons
of the Golden West, on October 4, 1925, marked
this spot by placing a bronze plaque at the
base of a seventy-five foot flagpole. An annual
pilgrimage is made to the summit of the peak. From
this elevation an admirable view of the surrounding
country is obtained. To the west lies the Salinas
Valley and the road to Monterey, while eastward,
beyond a line of barren hills, is the San Joaquin.

The position chosen by Fremont was almost im¬
pregnable and was rendered doubly so by the erec¬
tion of a fort of logs. With his sixty dead shots he

176

A MAN UNAFRAID

felt that in case Castro carried out his commands he
would be able to give a memorable account of him¬
self. On the completion of the rudely constructed
fort the American flag was flung to the breeze amid
the cheers of the men. For three days the Captain
remained here with colors flying, meantime watch¬
ing the movements of Castro’s troops below at the
Mission San Juan. He could see them plainly with
the aid of his glass. The vaqueros, who brought him
an ox from a ranch in the valley, said the Indians
at San Juan were furnished with much liquor in
order to inspire courage. On the afternoon of the
second day a body of cavalry was seen advancing
up the wood road that ran from the Monterey road
to the camp. With forty men the Captain went a
short distance away and secreted himself in a thicket
to await them, but when within a few hundred
yards the Mexicans halted and after some consul¬
tation turned back. It was well they did, for other¬
wise California history might have contained an¬
other interesting chapter.

During the evening of the third day the pole
bearing the flag fell down, and thinking that he had
remained as long as the occasion required, Fremont
took advantage of the accident to say to the men
that it was an indication for them to move camp
and he gave orders to this effect. Immediately after
he had gone an Englishman came to the summit of
the peak with a note from Castro. It is said that the
missive contained the proposition that the Captain
should unite his force with that of the commanding
general and jointly march against Governor Pio
Pico. Taking into consideration the rather chaotic

COMMODORE JOHN B. MONTGOMERY
Who raised the American flag in San Francisco, July 7, 1846.

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

177

condition of Mexican politics then existing, and
their habit of starting revolutions, Fremont was
inclined to believe the rumor. The bearer of this
message was John Gilroy, after whom the town of
Gilroy was named. Some correspondence ensued
between Fremont and Consul Larkin at Monterey.
The native courier who carried the letters ex¬
changed between them said the two thousand of
his countrymen would not be able to force the Cap¬
tain out of the territory. At this time there was
serious friction between General Castro and Pio
Pico. On June 8th, 1846, the former declared mar¬
tial law and a little later Pio Pico started from Los
Angeles with a military force to compel Castro
to yield to his authority, but the belligerent atti¬
tude of the American settlers changed the whole
aspect of affairs. An extract from a letter of Lar¬
kin’s to the Secretary of State gives a very good idea
of the situation arising from the Fremont incident:

"The General informed the Alcalde on the night
of the I oth instant that Captain Fremont had left
his encampment and that he (the general) would
pursue and attack him at the first opportunity and
chastise him for hoisting a foreign flag in Califor¬
nia. In a postscript of the same letter the General
stated that Captain Fremont had crossed a small
river and was three miles from them; but Castro
made no preparations to follow him. On the morn¬
ing of the iith the General sent JoKn Gilroy, an
Englishman, long resident in this country, to make
offers of arrangement to Captain Fremont. On his
arrival at the camp ground he found that Captain
Fremont had left that morning with his party; the

178

A MAN UNAFRAID

camp fire was still burning. He found in the camp
the staff used for the flag, tent poles (cut on the
spot) , some old clothes, two old and useless pack
saddles, which the Californians had magnified into
munitions of war. General Castro informed his
party that he had received various messages from
the camp of Captain Fremont, threatening to ex¬
terminate the Californians, etc. (but will hardly
name his messengers, nor did they put any confi¬
dence in it themselves) . . . . A few people who
were ordered to march from San Francisco to join
the General at his camp had returned to their homes.
On the 1 2th a proclamation was put up by the
General in the billiard room (not the usual place)
informing the inhabitants that a band of highway¬
men under Captain Fremont of the United States
Army had come within the towns of this depart¬
ment and that he with two hundred patriots had
driven them out and sent them into the back coun¬
try. Some of the officers of the two hundred patri¬
ots (and more were expected to join them) arrived
in Monterey and reported that the cowards had
run, that they had driven them into the Sacramento
River; some added that they had driven them into
the bullrushes on the plains of the Sacramento and
that in their haste they had left some of their best
horses behind. The horses proved to be those of the
Californians themselves which had strayed into
Captain Fremont’s band (being an everyday oc¬
currence in California) and on raising camp they
were turned out and left behind. Instead of the
Americans being driven out of the country they
traveled a less distance for three or four days than

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

179

the natives did in returning to Monterey, moving
from four to six miles a day.”

In another letter Consul Larkin says that General
Castro had received dispatches ordering him to
drive Fremont out of the department, and which
order, with two hundred men and one hundred
more daily expected, he pretended to execute.

*'The undersigned has not supposed during the
whole affair,” concludes the Consul, *'that General
Castro wished to go after Captain Fremont and
was very confident that with all of California he
would not have attacked him, even had he been sure
of destroying the whole party as five times their
number could have taken their place before the ex¬
pected battle. Captain Fremont received verbal
application from both English and Americans to
join his party and could have mustered as many
men as the natives. He was careful not to do so.
Although he discharged five or six of his men, he
took no others in their place.”

As will be seen Fremont had no intention of an¬
tagonizing the Mexican officials, or of doing any¬
thing to embarrass the United States government.
While he was extremely careful not to compromise
his country, he felt that it was only right to defend
himself in case of an attack as his mission was
wholly peaceful. On leaving his camp on the moun¬
tain peak he descended the range on the southeast
side and stopped for the night at a creek within
three miles of General Castro’s camp. That he was
in no hurry to obey the command of the Mexican
official is evident from his deliberate movements.

The I rth of the month saw him in the San Joa-

A MAN UNAFRAID

1 8o

quin Valley on his way north where he experienced
real summer weather. Traveling by easy stages they
camped on the Tuolumne River March 14th and on
the 2 1 St reached the Sacramento, stopping a day
later at their old camping place opposite the home
of Mr. Grimes. They remained for several days,
allowing the animals to feed on the splendid range
between the river and the hills. In a journey of
thirty miles they came to the Keyset rancho on the
Bear River, an affluent of the Feather River, the
largest tributary of the Sacramento. Their route
led over a beautiful undulating country of oaks and
flowering shrubs, covered with fields of yellow pop¬
pies interspersed with the blue lupine. In the early
spring these poppies, indigenous to California, riot
over hill and dale in reckless profusion, looking at
a distance like a huge yellow blaze on the landscape.
Ranches were scarce and the land lay in all its virgin
beauty with thousands of flaming flowers to glad¬
den the eye and great oaks to offer their kindly
shade.

As the party approached more closely to the
Sierras the country grew more picturesque. They
came to the Feather River some twenty miles from
its junction with the Sacramento. Fiere also was
the mouth of the Yuba River, named after a tribe
of Indians that inhabited the region, and who helped
them to cross the stream in their canoes. There
was a big ranch on the Yuba, stocked with three
thousand head of cattle and yielding twenty-five
bushels of wheat to the acre. Indians were hired to
perform the labor. Some miles above on Butte Creek
the Captain found his old companion, Neal, who

THE THIRD EXPEDITION

i8i

had accompanied him on his second expedition,
occupying a good, well-stocked rancho. He had
quit blacksmithing for Sutter and had a place he
could call his own. In this brief time he was a pros¬
perous rancher, which attests the fertility of Cali¬
fornia soil.

There was an Indian village close by and the in¬
habitants, who were as naked as when they were
born, ran foot races for the head of a cow, the ani¬
mal having been presented to the Fremont party.
On March 30th, camping on one of the tributaries
of the Sacramento, the travelers were annoyed by
swarms of mosquitoes which infest the valley dur¬
ing the spring and summer months. Near at hand
was the ranch of Mr. Lassen, whose name was given
to the peak that is now an active volcano. Here
Fremont rested six days, taking ample time to leave
California territory and continued up the Sacra¬
mento, coming to the first rapids of this river
shortly after his departure from Lassen’s. The Sac¬
ramento is navigable for over two hundred miles.
Its waters were alive with salmon and the men
speared some of them which were roasted before
the camp fire.

On the 6th they got a glimpse of Mount Shastl
(Shasta) lifting its snow-crowned head above the
northern ridges in majestic splendor. The Coast
Range showed a prominent peak to which Fremont
gave the name of Mount Linn, in remembrance
of his friend. Senator Linn of Missouri. The maps
of today show the name spelled Lynn. It was
the Captain’s intention to go north along the Cas¬
cade Range into Oregon and there to connect with

i82

A MAN UNAFRAID

his survey of 1843. He was now in an interesting
and heavily wooded country where game was plen¬
tiful. His course lay up the Pit River, and he
speaks in his journal of seeing a new and singular
shrub (manzanita) which has smooth, reddish bark
and pale green leaves oval in form. From its red
berries the Indians make a drink which is very re¬
freshing and pleasing to the taste. In some parts
of the Southwest the natives use the leaves as to¬
bacco.

Fremont continued to explore and map the re¬
gion with Mount Shasta always in view. "As lone as
God and white as a winter moon,” it looms above
the surrounding country, robed in its garment of
eternal white, imperial and majestic. Turning
southward the Captain retraced his steps down the
valley, reaching Lassen’s on the nth of April,
where for the two following nights he set up his
transit and observed the longitude with accuracy.
The day he left Lassen’s for his northern journey,
April 24th, was made memorable by a fight be¬
tween Mexicans and American Dragoons on the
Rio Grande, though, of course, no one in Califor¬
nia knew of the occurrence. The annexation of
Texas gave to that state the territory extending to
the Rio Grande where General Taylor was ordered
to proceed and where trouble resulted. Naturally,
with his knowledge of affairs, Fremont anticipated
this and was in no hurry to leave California
territory, preferring to linger and enjoy the spring
flowers.

CHAPTER VII

The Tragedy at Klamath Lake

Again the expedition followed up the Sacra¬
mento, reaching the head of the lower valley on
the second day and traveling along one of the many
beautiful creeks that flow into the river. In the
bottom lands were much grass and many acorns and
the abundance of game was a constant delight to
the hunters. One evening, while making camp in
a grove of oaks, they discovered that they were
about to occupy a veritable bear’s den. There were
bears all around them and trouble began at once.
Four were killed in a few moments and Delaware
Charlie, whose horse fell with him, was in immedi¬
ate danger, but was saved from bruin’s wrath by
the other men. In falling, the hammer of his gun
hit him on the bridge of his nose, breaking it in the
middle. As there was no surgeon with the party
Fremont performed a surgical operation and man¬
aged to get the nose back into shape for which the
Delaware was eternally grateful.

The face of the country now began to assume
a mountainous character, oak and pine being inter¬
mingled, and the ground rather rocky. There was
a three-leaved flower that elicited the Captain’s
admiration. Its blossoms waved above the grass on
a long stem and had all the appearance of a living
butterfly. This was the famous Mariposa Lily cele¬
brated in song and story. In describing this region
Fremont loves to dwell on the beauty of it, which

(183)

184

A MAN UNAFRAID

made a deep impression on his artistic soul. As he
advanced, the mountain slopes rose rapidly, covered
with a heavy growth of pines. In crossing one of
the high ridges there were patches of snow. Just
before noon he reached a pass in the main ridge of
the Sierra Nevada. It was in an open forest and had
an elevation of four thousand six hundred feet.
This pass was the terminating point of the northern
link of the Sierras, at which the Cascade begins. On
descending the mountain they entered a basin lying
north and south along the Cascades. While there
were numerous pines it was unlike the Sacramento
country, as there was little grass growing under the
trees. It was well watered and there were several
good-sized lakes, but the region was unknown to
Fremont and his men. He could learn nothing of
it from the Indians he encountered, who were dis¬
posed to be friendly. Therefore he gave his own
names to some of its natural features. Lake Rhett
in Northern California he named after a warm
friend, Mr. Barnwell Rhett of South Carolina, who
was connected with an event in Fremont’s life,
"which brought with it an abiding satisfaction.”
He does not say what this was. His camp at this
lake was about twenty-five or thirty miles from the
lava beds near which General Canby was killed by
the Modocs twenty-seven years later.

Now came a real cause for worry. While in
Round Valley Archambeau, who was an inveterate
hunter, went away toward the mountains and failed
to return during the day. Night came and went
and still no Archambeau. The Captain did not
break camp, but sent men out to look for him.

TRAGEDY AT KLAMATH LAKE 1 8 5

The second day went by without any trace of the
lost hunter. Fremont’s anxiety increased. He well
knew the danger from Indians, and although he had
seen none, he knew they were in the vicinity. It
would have been less difficult to hunt for a man in
a prairie country, but here among the woods where
one could see for only a short distance, and where
one was limited to a comparatively small area, it
was a perplexing problem. The Indians of that par¬
ticular locality bore a reputation for treachery and
were very daring. The Hudson Bay Company’s
men, who had penetrated the region, met with
rough experiences and on one occasion "a party
of trappers from the North were encamped on a
stream of the Cascade Range, and having been led
into carelessness by the apparent friendly conduct
of the Indians, were every man killed.” It was no
difficult matter for the Indians to waylay a single
man bent on obtaining game. Archambeau had
with him only a small supply of dried meat when he
left camp and this would not last long. As the
hours dragged by and no trace of him could be
found the men became very much alarmed. The
Captain had always been very careful of the mem¬
bers of his expedition. He had lost but few and
these only by accident or imprudence. On the third
day about sunset a shout went up from the guards
and the lost Archambeau hobbled into camp just
able to drag one foot after the other. He was com¬
pletely fagged and his horse was in the same condi¬
tion. It seems he had wandered off in the hills in
search of game and did not realize it was growing
so late until darkness was upon him. The following

i86

A MAN UNAFRAID

two days were given to hunting for camp as he had
lost his sense of direction. Once a band of Indians,
doubtless going to the mountains to fish, came into
view and he immediately descended a sharp slope
and remained out of sight. He was very much
frightened for the moment, but kept his head,
which many men are not apt to do under similar
circumstances. His horse having little opportunity
to graze was greatly weakened and at once began
to make up for lost time, Archambeau was a happy
man when he struck the trail of the Fremont party.
A night’s rest and he was himself again. After
three days spent here the animals were in a fit con¬
dition to resist orders to move and the men, now
that their comrade had returned safely, were in
excellent spirits. The day after they made a long
march and camped on a stream flowing into Lake
Rhett, which the Captain called McCrady after one
of his boyhood friends.

On the forenoon of May 6th they reached
Klamath Lake at its outlet, which was a great fish¬
ing station of the Indians. It will be remembered
that on his former trip Fremont had mistaken
Klamath Meadows for Klamath Lake and he now
made the discovery that the Sacramento River does
not head in this body of water. Here they met many
Indians who, although they were taken by surprise,
received them with apparent friendship. However,
there was no warmth in their welcome, but a *'shy-
ness which came naturally from their hostility.”
The Indians had fixed habitations around the shores
of the lake and at the outlet were a number of per¬
manent huts. The elevation at this spot is more

TRAGEDY AT KLAMATH LAKE 1 87

than four thousand feet. It was a bright sunny
morning when Fremont arrived here and he would
have been only too glad to range over the water in
an Indian canoe. Its silent shores with the great
mountains overshadowing it lent an air of mystery
to the lake and invited research. The Indians gave
him to understand that there was another large
river at the head of the lake where they caught
many fish.

Continuing his journey between the lake and the
mountains he made camp on a small creek that ran
from the woods and which he named Denny’s
Branch. The weather remained refreshingly cool
and as they passed on to the north their way was
frequently blocked by decayed logs and fallen trees.
The traveling was necessarily slow owing to the ob¬
structions placed in their pathway by the wash of
rains from the foothills. While this part of the
country was known to trappers, it was practically
unexplored, no definite maps having been made of
it. This was a task Fremont felt he should under¬
take. It was his ambition to make a thorough ex¬
amination of the locality for the purposes of science
and to give to the world something more reliable
than maps showing Mary’s Lake and Buenaventura
River. He also looked forward to a meeting with
the Indian chief whom he had met in the winter of
’43 at the meadows above the Klamath and whom
he had hired to guide the party through the snow.
His plan was to continue the survey throughout the
spring, visiting the headwaters of the principal
streams and providing material for a good map of
the country along the base of the mountains. Then

1 88 A MAN UNAFRAID

there was the possibility of fine harbors being found
on the coast and of mountain passes connecting the
interior with the sea. He had all these things in
mind, and the high white peaks of the Cascades,
with their sunset hues, stood out in his memory with
enchanting vividness. But it was not Fremont’s
destiny to do any of these things of which he
dreamed. Fate decreed otherwise. He had a leading
role to play in the conquest of California and the
curtain was about to rise on the first scene of this
historic drama.

"I was standing alone by my camp fire,” he
writes, "enjoying its warmth, for the night air of
early spring is chill under the shadows of the high
mountains. Suddenly my ear caught the faint
sounds of horses’ feet and while I was watching and
listening as the sounds, so strange hereabout, came
nearer, there emerged from the darkness into the
circle of the firelight two horsemen riding slowly
as though horse and man were fatigued from long
traveling. In the foremost I recognized the familiar
face of Neal, with a companion I also knew. They
had ridden nearly a hundred miles in the last two
days, having been sent forward by a United States
officer, who was on my trail with dispatches for
me; but Neal doubted if he would get through.
After their horses had been turned into the band
and they were seated by my fire, refreshing them¬
selves with good coffee, while more solid food was
being prepared, Neal told me his story. The officer
who was trying to overtake me was named Gilles¬
pie. He had been sent to California by the govern¬
ment and had letters for delivery to me. Neal knew

TRAGEDY AT KLAMATH LAKE 189

the great danger from Indians in this country, and
his party becoming alarmed and my trail being
fresh, Mr. Gillespie had sent forward Neal and Sig¬
ler upon their best horses to overtake me and inform
me of his situation. They had left him on the morn¬
ing of the day before and in the two days had ridden
nearly a hundred miles and this last day had severely
tried the strength of their horses. When they parted
from him they had not yet reached the lake and for
greater safety had not kept my trail quite to the
outlet, but crossed to the right bank of the river,
striking my trail again on the lake shore. They had
discovered Indians on my trail after they had left
Gillespie and on the upper part of the lake the
Indians had tried to cut them oflF and they had es¬
caped only on account of the speed and the strength
of their horses, which Neal had brought from his
own rancho. He said that in his opinion I could
not reach Gillespie in time to save him as he had
with him only three men and was traveling slow.”

The Captain saw that quick action was neces¬
sary, but it would be impossible to go back over
the trail in the darkness of the night. The arrival
of Neal was a time of excitement for Fremont, who
could scarcely sleep in thinking over the messages
from the government and what information they
might contain. The following morning before day¬
light he began preparations for the backward jour¬
ney. He chose ten of his men to accompany him,
including Carson, Stepp, Owens, Godey, and La-
jeunesse. Snow and fallen timber made the ride
hard and long to where the Captain expected to
meet the officer. No Indians were seen and in the

190

A MAN UNAFRAID

afternoon, having ridden about forty-five miles,
they reached a spot where the forest was open to
the lake and where, in a small meadow land, there
was plenty of grass and good water. Here they
camped to await the arrival of Gillespie. It was near
sunset when four men emerged from the woods and
in a few moments the Captain met Lieutenant
Archibald Gillespie of the marine corps. It was a
meeting filled with enthusiasm, as the Lieutenant
carried letters from home for both Fremont and
some of his men. It was more than eleven months
since any news of the East had reached them, and
the officer’s coming was hailed with great joy.

Gillespie told Fremont that he had taken the
shortest possible route to reach California —
through Mexico to Mazatlan — and that he was un¬
der orders from the President and the Secretary of
the Navy to find the Captain wherever he might
be. At Monterey the Lieutenant was informed that
Fremont was probably on the Sacramento. On
learning at Sutter’s Fort that he had gone on up
the valley, he obtained the services of Neal and fol¬
lowed after, traveling in all about six hundred miles.
As heretofore stated, the mission of Fremont had
been to all intent and purposes a peaceful one. A
few days more would have found him still further
north, but now Mr. Bancroft, Secretary of the
Navy, had sent Gillespie to give him an idea of the
new turn of affairs in regard to California and the
aim and intentions of the government. Gillespie
was also the bearer of dispatches to Commodore
Sloat.

"The information through Gillespie,” says Fre-

TRAGEDY AT KLAMATH LAKE 19 1

mont, "had absolved me from my duty as explorer
and I was left to my duty as an officer of the Amer¬
ican army with the further authoritative knowl¬
edge that the government intended to take Califor¬
nia. I was warned by my government of the new
danger against which I was bound to defend myself
and it had been made known to me now on the au¬
thority of the Secretary of the Navy that to obtain
possession of California was the chief object of the
President.”

Among the Lieutenant’s letters was one of in¬
troduction from Mr. Buchanan, Secretary of State.
Gillespie told the Captain that the Secretary desired
that he should ascertain the wishes of the Califor¬
nia people and to find this out with a "view to
counteracting the designs of the British Govern¬
ment upon the country.” There were a number of
letters from Senator Benton, which, though worded
very diplomatically, nevertheless conveyed certain
intelligence to guide Fremont’s future actions.

It is said that after Gillespie had left Sutter’s in
pursuit of Fremont Captain Sutter wrote to
Castro warning him against the Lieutenant as an
agent of the United States and recommending the
establishment of an effective garrison before any
more American emigrants should arrive. If this be
true Sutter was, indeed, loyal to Mexico!

There was much animated talk around the camp
fire the night Gillespie arrived. None of the men
retired early and Fremont last of all. He sat by the
fire reading and re-reading his letters and ruminat¬
ing over the sudden change of events. Castro had or¬
dered him out of the country, but he was now to

192

A MAN UNAFRAID

return and aid the President in his desire to acquire
California for the Union. In substance the orders
he received were to "act descreetly, but positively.”
Under the confidential instructions of Mr. Bancroft
Fremont felt warranted in taking action. Gillespie
was directed to act in concert with him and great
vigilance was required of them both, for it was de¬
sired that possession of the territory should be ac¬
complished before any foreign ships of war should
arrive. That there was to be war with Mexico was
inevitable. The dream of Senator Benton was about
to be realized — the shore of the Pacific Ocean was
to mark the western limit of the United States. The
Captain resolved "to move forward on the oppor¬
tunity and return forthwith to the Sacramento
Valley,” in order to bring all the influence he could
command to acquire Cailfornia.

Suddenly in the midst of his cogitations he was
startled by a quick movement of the animals, which
were grazing near the lake less than a hundred yards
away. He was sure there were no Indians on his trail
and Gillespie had assured him there were none on his.
But something had alarmed the horses and mules.
Taking his revolver he went cautiously down
among the animals. Each mule was standing silent
with long ears pointed forward, a thing a mule
rarely does unless his curiosity is aroused by the ap¬
pearance of some one, or by a sound that he fails
to understand. Fremont was puzzled by the action
of the animals and stood for some time watching
and listening. This was the only night save one he
had neglected to put men on guard in an Indian
country. He always believed in this precaution, but

THE MONTEREY CYPRESS

Mentioned so frequently in Fremont’s reports and memoirs, are
stunted and gnarled because of exposure to the almost constant
winds. The cypress has been the theme of poets and artists since
the early days of California history. They add rugged beauty to

the Monterey coast.

•p

a

1

\

i

TRAGEDY AT KLAMATH LAKE 193

in this instance he felt comparatively safe. The
waters of the lake lay calm and unruffled. A deep
silence lay heavy on the land — a silence that for-
boded evil. The crickets had ceased their singing
and the music of the frogs was stilled. In a few mo¬
ments the horses resumed their grazing and, think¬
ing that a coyote or some other prowler was the
cause of alarm, the Captain returned to camp and
retired for the night. There were three fires burn¬
ing, the camp being thus divided, and near to each,
out of the light of the fire, were the men belonging
to it. Beds had been made under some overhanging
boughs of the cedars that hemmed them in on three
sides. For a long time Fremont lay unable to sleep,
his mind busy with the events of the last few hours
and wondering what Fate had in store for him. He
listened to the occasional snapping of the fire and
saw the surrounding darkness grow lighter as the
blaze would suddenly flash up, only to flicker out,
leaving the camp more gloomy than before. Some¬
where in the great forest a cougar wailed dismally
and an owl hooted from a neighboring tree. There
was a chirp of a sleepy bird from an adjacent thicket
— a plaintive little note to let him know, perhaps,
that it had a song in reserve when the morning sun
came up. These sounds — and there are many in the
forest at night — gradually lulled Fremont to sleep.
Later he was suddenly awakened by hearing Carson
call to Basil to know what the "matter was over
there.” There was an instant of silence. Then Car-
son and Owens cried in one voice "Indians!” In the
space of a heartbeat the camp was all action. The
sound that woke Carson was that of an ax crushing

194

A MAN UNAFRAID

in the head of Basil Lajeunesse. This was immedi¬
ately followed by the groans of another of the party
— Denny, a half-breed, whose body was pierced by
five arrows. At the sound of the ax the Delawares
sprang to their feet, rifles in hand, while Fremont,
Carson, Godey, Stepp, and Owens entered the fray
just as the Klamaths charged into the open ground.
The camp fires afforded but little light, but enough
for them to see the Delaware, Crane, jumping from
side to side in Indian style and defending himself
with the butt of his gun, which for some unac¬
countable reason he had neglected to load. Then
followed the sharp crack of rifles spitting fire into
the darkness, while the arrows — silent messengers
of death — flew around the little band of frontiers¬
men fighting for their lives. For a few moments all
was confusion. The Klamath chief, who was at the
head of his men, plunged forward with a bullet in
his heart, killed by Stepp according to Kit Carson.
Crane went down fighting bravely to the end.
Checked in their onslaught by the rapid fire of the
men and the death of their chief, the Klamaths
sought the cover of darkness and continued to pour
in their arrows. A blanket was thrown over the
body of Crane. Blankets were also hung on the
boughs to protect the men from the arrows that
came hissing through the air. At last the Indians
made a fierce attempt to get the body of the chief,
but were continually repulsed by the steady rifle
fire of the explorers. To a certain extent they fired
at random as most of the battle took place in the
dark and the Klamaths appeared as vague shadows
under the cover of night. The position of the Fre-

TRAGEDY AT KLAMATH LAKE 195

mont party was exceedingly grave, but the men
trained to such emergencies kept their heads and re¬
plied to the fusillade of arrows with repeated shots.
Once Godey stepped out into the firelight, some¬
thing having gone wrong with his gun, when Car-
son exclaimed, "Look at the fool!” Unmindful of
the danger to which he had exposed himself, he
looked resentfully at Carson and continued to ex¬
amine his rifle with all the coolness imaginable — a
fair target for the arrows of the Klamaths.

Throughout the night the men sat behind their
blanket shelter, expecting every minute a renewal
of the attack, which they were now well prepared
to meet. At length the light of dawn began to creep
in through the woods. The Klamaths had vanished.
It had been a terrible ordeal — fighting shadows in
the dark — and they were glad to see the day. By
their tracks the Captain judged that fifteen or
twenty Indians were engaged in the attack. In the
gray of the morning a sad sight met their eyes.
Three of the party lay dead — Basil, Crane, and
Denny. One of the Delawares had a bad wound.
They had lost nearly one-fourth of their number.
The chief, who had been killed, was recognized by
Gillespie as the Indian who had given him a salmon
at the outlet of the lake. An English half -ax was
fastened to his wrist. It was the one that had been
driven into the head of poor Basil as he lay asleep.
In his rage Carson seized the ax and crushed in the
skull of the dead chief, while one of the Delawares
took his scalp. There were some forty arrows in his
quiver. Carson said they were the "most beautiful
and warlike he had ever seen.” Each arrow head

196

A MAN UNAFRAID

was a sharply pointed piece of iron or steel, no doubt
obtained from some of the traders of the Hudson
Bay Company. They were poisoned for about six
inches from the tips. At close range such arrows
are as deadly as bullets as they can be driven deeply
into a pine tree. Gloom settled over the camp. The
men thirsted for revenge. For a far lesser crime
than this Carson and Godey had gone on the war¬
path and now they were simply furious. For the
moment Fremont forgot everything else in his de¬
sire to punish the Klamaths before leaving the coun¬
try. It was only a few days before that he had di¬
vided his meat with these Indians and given them
tobacco and knives. And to repay him in such a
brutal manner! His anger knew no bounds.

On leaving the main division of his men the Cap¬
tain had instructed them as soon as they had break¬
fasted to move south to a camp where they had
stopped a few nights before. This would put them
about twenty-five miles distant. Placing the dead
on the mules he started back over his old trail to re¬
join the main camp. Before he had traveled two
hours many canoes were to be seen on the lake. They
were coming from different directions and were
apparently heading for a place where the trail ran
very close to the water’s edge. Fremont felt that
should a fight occur the bodies of the dead men
would prove a great handicap, so he turned abruptly
toward the hills and proceeded to bury them in a
laurel thicket, the men digging shallow graves with
their knives. Here beneath the laurel they were laid
to rest and here they sleep away the unnumbered
centuries. Basil, who was always referred to by Fre-

TRAGEDY AT KLAMATH LAKE 197

mont as his "favorite,” had been with him since his
first expedition. The Captain felt the loss of this
brave voyageur very keenly and his death was
mourned by all of the men. The Delawares were
plunged in grief over the killing of Crane and
Denny. They blackened their faces, a custom
among them when mourning for the dead. They
were very silent. That evening the camp was
strangely quiet. The men sat around caressing their
firearms and saying nothing. Fremont went over
to the Delawares’ fire and, sitting down, spoke sym¬
pathetically to them. They were quietly smoking.
The Captain gives the conversation that ensued as
follows:

"After a pause I said, 'Swanok, bad luck come
this time. Crane was a brave. Good man, too. I
am very sorry.’

" *Very sick here,’ he said, striking his hand
against his breast, 'Delaware all sick.’

" 'There are Indians around the camp, Swanok,’
I replied.

" 'Yes, I see him; me and Sagundai and Charlie
gone out and see him in the woods.’

" 'How many?’

" 'Maybe ten, maybe twenty, maybe more.’

" 'Where did they go?’

" 'Up mountain. He not long way.’

" 'Listen, Swanok! We kill some. These same
men kill Crane. How best kill him?’

"The chief’s eyes glittered and his face relaxed
and all of the Delawares raised their heads.

" 'You go in morning. Which way?’

" 'Only three, four mile to creek which you know

198

A MAN UNAFRAID

over there,’ I replied pointing up the lake. 'Next
day big Indian village.’

"Swanok turned to Sagundai and the two chiefs
spoke earnestly for a few moments, the others
deeply interested, but gravely listening without
speaking.

" 'Captain,’ said Sagundai, 'in the morning you
go little way, stop. These Delaware stay here. In¬
dian come in camp, Delaware kill him.’ ”

This plan struck Fremont as very good. Accord¬
ingly it was carried out the following day. The
Delawares accompanied the party for several hun¬
dred yards, then leaving their horses with the Cap¬
tain, they returned on foot and secreted themselves
in a clump of young pines near the camp. After an
interval of half an hour or so there was the report
of guns, followed in a short time by the arrival of
the Delawares, who proudly exhibited two scalps.
As had been expected, the Klamaths rushed in as
soon as the camp was deserted only to meet the fire
of those in ambush. Some of the Indians escaped
owing to the overanxiety of the Delawares to even
up the score. Fiowever, they felt much better now
that they had scalped two of their enemies.

Meantime the rest of the party had arrived and
they were all together. They went on for several
miles and camped in an open space among the pines,
constructing a tight corral into which all the ani¬
mals were driven. The next night the same pro¬
cedure was carried out, the Indians becoming more
wary in their movements. The party was now quite
close to the principal village at the inlet of the lake
and extra precautions were taken. When within

TRAGEDY AT KLAMATH LAKE 199

a few miles of the village Carson and Owens, with
ten men, were directed to go ahead and reconnoiter.
They were instructed to avoid an engagement with
the Indians if possible until the rest of the party
should arrive. As Fremont and the others neared
the mouth of the river they heard the report of
rifles and found that the Klamaths had discovered
Carson and his men, and they had no alternative but
to open the fight. They had driven the redskins
across the river, and Fremont noticed, as he rode up,
a dead Indian in a canoe with the paddle still in his
hand. On his feet were shoes closely resembling
those Basil had worn when he was killed. Here the
river, which was about sixty yards wide, was ford¬
able, and Fremont crossed it in defense of Carson
and the others, who were engaged with a large num¬
ber of Klamaths. They had left their village and
were now scattered among the sage brush that cov¬
ered the river bank. There was no darkness to con¬
ceal their movements. It was a fair fight in broad
daylight and in the open. The Klamaths relied on
their arrows, thinking the range was short, and evi¬
dently intended to make a stand, but the rifle fire
was too severe and they ran for the woods, leaving
fourteen of their band dead upon the field. Their
decision to make a hard fight was sadly upset. Be¬
hind each clump of sage brush that had sheltered
them they had laid their arrows carefully spread out
that they might handle them quickly, but the shots
of the Fremont party were so true and so deadly that
few of the foremost Klamaths survived. When the
field was clear the Captain set fire to the Indian
huts, which destroyed a quantity of fish they were

200

A MAN UNAFRAID

drying on scaffolds . These huts were built of rushes
and willows and burned like tinder. None of the
men were wounded in the brief encounter. Fre¬
mont camped in the woods about a mile from the
village, again throwing up a strong corral for the
animals. His scouts were kept out and his horses
were all saddled.

In the afternoon the Klamaths were reported to
be advancing through the timber. Taking with him
Carson, Stepp, Archambeau, and the two Delaware
chiefs, he rode out to learn what the Indians had in
mind. He was mounted on the fleet-footed Sacra¬
mento, who was renowned for his wonderful abil¬
ity to make leaps and bounds when occasion re¬
quired. This particular day Sacramento sprang
over an oak tree which had been blown down by
the wind. This elicited a warning from Carson that
the horse would yet break the Captain’s neck. When
in the midst of the woods they came suddenly upon
a Klamath scout, who was already drawing his bow
when they saw him. Carson, who was in the lead,
attempted to fire, but his gun snapped. As he
swerved away the Indian was about to send an ar¬
row into the noted scout when Fremont fired, miss¬
ing the redskin, whereupon he drove Sacramento
directly over the Indian, knocking him down and
causing his arrow to go wild. At that moment Sa-
gundai leaped from his horse and struck the Kla¬
math on the head with his war club. It all happened
in less time than it takes to tell it. It was one of the
many narrow escapes that Carson had had during
his adventurous career; he seemed to bear a charmed
life. The arrows of the Indian were poisoned.

TRAGEDY AT KLAMATH LAKE 201

Fremont now felt that he had kept well the
promise he had made himself. The Klamaths had
been punished severely for their treachery and he
was ready to rest from the excitement of the day
and to think of other matters. As he lay in his lodge
Gillespie came in full of emotion at the stirring
scenes he had witnessed. It was all new and strange
to him. He was more than enthusiastic over the
cool behavior of the man in the hour of danger. It
was all so different from life aboard a man-of-war,
so filled with unexpected and thrilling incidents.
The Lieutenant, who shared Fremont’s lodge, was
so nervous and wrought up he could not sleep, and
that night the two discussed future plans until near
daybreak. In truth, there was little sleeping on the
part of the men, whose sad experience a night or so
previous had made them very wakeful. However,
no attack occurred.

They made a late start the following day, trav¬
eling south along the lake. The Captain kept scouts
out ahead as he was now fully aware of the danger¬
ous character of the Klamaths. For two days they
continued their march southward, each night erect¬
ing a corral for the horses and mules. At length they
bade good-by to the lake and to their dead com¬
rades. Fremont had exacted more than a life for a
life, and the Indians could not boast of their night
attack. It was not a pleasant story they had to hand
down to their children of the lake region. They had
discovered the punishment of the pale face to be
swift and sure, particularly when such men as Fre¬
mont and Carson were concerned. Nevertheless
none of the party underestimated the bravery and

202

A MAN UNAFRAID

daring of the Klamaths. They were the most cour¬
ageous of any of the tribes with which they had
come in contact. Even Kit Carson admitted this,
and he had had a great deal of experience with the
Blackfeet, who were noted for their prowess. But
the Klamaths surpassed even the Blackfeet in bold¬
ness and determination.

The following day, while on the trail, the Cap¬
tain chanced upon an arrow sticking in the ground
to which was fastened a fresh scalp. Maxwell and
Archambeau were riding ahead. That evening they
said they had come upon an Indian, who at once
laid down the bunch of young crows he was carry¬
ing, and let fly an arrow at Maxwell, which fortu¬
nately missed him. He sprang from his saddle and
opened fire. In consequence the Indian met a sud¬
den death, and his scalp was put on the trail to tell
the story. As Fremont says, the men were getting
"roughened into Indian customs.”

The party was now in the Pit River country,
and with the coming of spring all the flowers were
in bloom. The hills wore a robe of emerald as far
up as the timber line, and above the peaks, robed in
snow, "glittered cool in their solitary heights.” The
men enjoyed traveling through a region fraught
with such beauty, even though danger lurked at
every turn. As an instance of the constant peril to
which they were subjected it happened that they
were descending the mountainside and entering a
rocky canyon. All seemed quiet and peaceful when
suddenly they were greeted by a flight of arrows. A
large number of Indians were lying in ambush,
waiting for them to come into the canyon. They

TRAGEDY AT KLAMATH LAKE 203

were promptly repulsed, leaving several of their
party among the rocks. One of the braves refused
to be dislodged and persisted in his efforts to score a
hit, holding the men out of range for some minutes.
Finally Carson crept around to a point where he
could get a good view of the redskin and shot him
through the heart. His bow and arrows were given
to Gillespie as a keepsake. This was the last encoun¬
ter with the Klamaths.

The party now crossed the mountains to the head
of the lower Sacramento, where they entered a mag¬
nificent forest composed of cypress and white cedar.
The elevation was four thousand six hundred feet.
As they went on down the flanks of the mountain
their way led through the same deep forest. The
timber began to grow more open when they had
descended a thousand feet, black oaks in full and
beautiful leaf appearing among the pines. At noon
they halted at an elevation of two thousand feet,
where the flowers formed a perfect bower and the
air was fragrant with the breath of the wildwoods.
They soon reached the open valley of the Sacra¬
mento, and on the 24th of May again camped at
Lassen’s.

That evening Fremont wrote a guarded letter to
Senator Benton, describing the attacks of the In¬
dians and their apparent friendliness with the men
of the Hudson Bay Company from whose fort on
the Umpqua they obtained the materials for war¬
fare, including tomahawks and iron arrowheads.
He incidentally asked the Senator why the English
should maintain a post on the Umpqua when the
fur trade did not justify it. The Hudson Bay Com-

204

A MAN UNAFRAID

pany was no doubt instrumental in stirring up the
Klamaths against the Fremont party. The Mexicans
were also to blame for the hostility of this tribe.
Of this there was no question.

The third Fremont expedition came to an end at
Lassen’s, though in his letter to Benton the Captain
speaks of coming home "by the Colorado.” It is
evident that he was very uncertain as to his future
course, meantime waiting to hear the news from the
Rio Grande. On arriving at Sutter’s he heard of
the great change in the affairs of the country. The
settlers had heard of Gillespie’s arrival in the valley
and his pursuit of Fremont. This led to many con¬
jectures and they were all desirous of seeing the Cap¬
tain return. There were rumors of war afloat and
of hostile proceedings by Castro against the Ameri¬
cans. There was a general feeling that a crisis was
at hand. In the meantime Fremont played a wait¬
ing game — waiting for the inevitable to happen.

CHAPTER VIII

The Conquest of California

The culmination of American resentment against
Mexico came when General Castro issued his mani¬
festo, or banda, on April 30th, which was sent to
the various consuls warning all foreigners that any
purchase of land they had made, or might make,
would be regarded as null and void, and that they
would be expelled from California territory any
time the Mexican government should so choose.
Such a drastic decree was the last straw, and the
American settlers were thoroughly aroused by the
injustice of the procedure. A council of war had
been held in Monterey on April 1 1 th and resolu¬
tions were adopted calling for stronger fortifica¬
tions in the north and expressing fear of an inva¬
sion by an American Captain of the United States
Army, Mr. Fremont, "which individual, though he
has retired to the interior of the department of the
north, we have, according to notices received, suffi¬
cient foundation to fear that his object is to
strengthen and provide himself with a superior
force capable of making resistance and carrying
forward his views.” These resolutions were signed
by six prominent Mexican officials, including Cas¬
tro, Vallejo, and Alvarado. It had become generally
known that Castro had ordered Fremont to leave
the country, and the Americans felt that it was
only a matter of days when the same order would
be issued to all others. The consternation following
the General’s proclamation can well be imagined.

(205)

2o6

A MAN UNAFRAID

When Fremont arrived in the valley he was called
upon by the settlers and their families, who re¬
quested protection. At Neal’s ranch he was in¬
formed that the Indians were leaving the valley and
taking to the mountains, something that presaged
immediate hostilities. A courier arrived from Sut¬
ter, reporting that two Californians had been sent
by Castro among the several tribes to arouse them
against the Americans. The Captain told the men
who called upon him to take their wives and chil¬
dren home, as there would be no depredations by
the Indians so long as he was in the valley. Fie had
seen enough of Indian warfare to meet it with an
iron hand.

It seems there were conflicting orders from Wash¬
ington to the representatives of the government on
the Coast. The Secretary of State instructed Con¬
sul Larkin to use all means to pacify the Califor¬
nians and to obtain possession of the country in a
peaceable way — as if this were possible — while the
Secretary of the Navy ordered Commodore Sloat,
on the declaration of war with Mexico, to raise the
American flag at once and take possession of the ter¬
ritory. There was no one to represent the army ex¬
cept Fremont with such instructions as he had,
mostly verbal, with the general order to use his own
judgment. Despite the criticism that has been
heaped upon the Captain for the part he played in
the conquest of California, no one can say that his
motives were not patriotic. His critics may accuse
him of everything under the sun, but they cannot
impugn his patriotism. And if the State of Califor-

CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA

207

nia were to do justice to Fremont there would be
a dozen monuments to his memory within its bor¬
ders. There seems to be a goodly supply of monu¬
ments to the Mexican Generals who opposed him.
Being far from the seat of government, and with
no opportunity for quick communication, his posi¬
tion was rendered most diflScult, and it may be said
that in all instances he acted for the best interests of
his country.

After talking the matter over with Lieutenant
Gillespie it was decided that he should go to San Fran¬
cisco with a requisition upon Commander Montgom¬
ery of the sloop of war Portsmouth , lying at anchor
in the harbor. The requisition called for the usual
camp supplies, as they were without either bread or
salt. Aside from this, Gillespie was to acquaint
Montgomery with the instructions given him in
Washington.

Neal, who had been on a visit to the coast settle¬
ment, returned in company with Samuel Ffensley,
a leading American settler, who told Fremont that
he had recently met General Vallejo and was in¬
formed that in a convention of Mexican officials just
held the proposition of separating from Mexico was
discussed, but under the protection of some foreign
power other than the United States. Hensley also
stated that Captain Sutter had sent for a chief of
one of the Indian tribes who acknowledged to him
that Castro had promised the Indians great reward
if they would burn the wheat crops of the Ameri¬
cans. It was the opinion of both Neal and Hensley
that the American residents would be forced to
fight or leave the country.

2o8

A MAN UNAFRAID

Fremont’s geographical work being done he had
ample time to think over the political situation and
determine his future actions. In other words, he
rested on his oars, waiting the turn of events and
prepared to take advantage of any uncertainty that
might arise by giving his country the benefit of
the doubt. Both Neal and Hensley left Lassen’s
with the Captain for the purpose of calling the set¬
tlers together to provide measures for their com¬
mon safety. Fremont’s camp, wherever it might
be, was named as the place of meeting for the
Americans. He then sent Hensley to visit Doctor
Marsh, who lived on the south side of the bay and
was a man of unusual ability, particularly favorable
to American interests. Among the Captain’s men
of action was one Ezekial Merritt, ''rugged, fearless,
and simple,” who was made a sort of field lieuten¬
ant among the settlers. News reached Fremont that
a band of horses had been gathered together in So¬
noma and were to be driven to Castro. Merritt in¬
tercepted the horses, dispersed the guard and the
vaqueros, and drove the animals into Fremont’s
camp. He then sent Merritt to Sonoma with in¬
structions to surprise the garrison at that place.

On May 3 oth the Captain and his men marched
south from Lassen’s, establishing themselves at the
"buttes of the Sacramento.” This is an isolated
mountain ridge about six miles long, with an eleva¬
tion at its summit of over two thousand feet. They
camped on a small creek on the southeastern side of
the ridge. The mornings were pleasantly cool with
a refreshing breeze, but as the day advanced the heat
grew very intense. This is one of the warmest spots

RUINS OF GOVERNOR CASTRO’S FIRST HOUSE AT

MONTEREY

A.

CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA

209

in the Sacramento Valley, but there was everything
favorable to a camp — good water, fine grass, and
plenty of game, which proved a delight to the Dela¬
wares. About this time Fremont named the en¬
trance to San Francisco Bay Chrysopylce, or Golden
Gate. This name was put on the map for the first
time in June, 1848. Fie also made some slight cor¬
rections in his observations and those of Captain
Beechey relative to the coast line, which later in¬
volved him in a controversy with Captain Wilkes.

Fremont’s camp at the "Buttes” became the ren¬
dezvous of the American settlers. Fiere they gath¬
ered to discuss affairs and exchange information.
It was thought with the ripening of the grain, and
from various reports, that the Indians were prepar¬
ing to carry out Castro’s scheme of setting fire to the
fields, so the Captain decided to strike a blow that
would make the redskins realize that Castro was
far and that he was near. Accordingly, with an in¬
creased number of men, he stole quietly out one
morning, following up the right bank of the river
to the first of the rancherias, or villages, the Indians
had along that stream. The scouts, who had been
sent forward, reported that the Indians had feath¬
ers on their heads and that their faces were painted.
From all appearances they were in the midst of their
war ceremonies, and without a halt the party rode
upon them, while they scattered in all directions,
many of them taking to the river and swimming
to the opposite bank. Without stopping, the men
rode on to other villages, but their coming seemed
to have been communicated in some strange way,
for the inhabitants had vanished. They visited all

210

A MAN UNAFRAID

the rancherias during the day, driving the Indians
out and upsetting their plans. The Captain says
"this was a rude but necessary measure to prevent
injury to the whites, and it had the ejffect that I
intended.’*

On June 8 th Fremont moved from the Buttes,
occupying his old camp ground on the American
River close to Sutter’s. On the following day Gilles¬
pie arrived from San Francisco with supplies from
the Portsmouth. By Lieutenant Hunter, who had
charge of the launch conveying Gillespie to Sutter’s
landing, the Captain received a most cordial letter
from Commander Montgomery. The ship’s sur¬
geon also came along to arrange Fremont’s medi¬
cine chest and to render any assistance possible.

Meantime the settlers had decided to take matters
into their own hands, though doubtless with sug¬
gestions from the Captain. At least the surprise
visit to Sonoma was made under his orders, which
were given to Merritt to carry out. Doctor Semple,
editor of the first newspaper published in the ter¬
ritory, worked in conjunction with Merritt, and
some thirty- three men were engaged in the capture
of Sonoma. Their motto was "Equal rights and
equal laws.” They surrounded the home of Gen¬
eral Vallejo in the morning before he was up. His
arrest was a peaceful affair, as the General asked
his captors to have a drink, which they did, and the
most amicable relations existed.

Writing of this occurrence in the Californian,
Doctor Semple says:

"However able may be the pen which shall record
these events, none but those who have witnessed the

CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA

21 1

moderation and uniform deportment of the little
garrison left at Sonoma can do them justice, for
there has been no time in the history of the world
where men without law, without officers, without
the scratch of a pen as to the object in view, have
acted with that degree of moderation and strict ob¬
servance of persons and property as was witnessed
on this occasion.’*

The prisoners taken were General Vallejo, his
brother. Colonel Salvador Vallejo, and his secre¬
tary, Colonel Prudon. General Vallejo afterward
became an Ajnerican citizen and possessed many
sterling qualities. Together with the interpreter,
Jacob Leese, they were taken to Fremont’s camp,
and Leese was there arrested by the Captain’s order.
As Fremont was not prepared to accept prisoners,
the men were escorted to Sutter’s Fort, of which
Edward Kern was given charge, Sutter himself
being an official of Mexico. On the 14th of June,
1846, the day that Sonoma was captured, some of
the settlers who took part in that historic event got
together and organized the "Republic of Califor¬
nia.” A man named Todd, thinking to make the
occurrence more notable, made a flag of the white
petticoat of Miss Anna Frisbie, then visiting in So¬
noma. The design was that of a grizzly bear and the
lettering was made of lampblack and pokeberry
juice. Captain Ford suggested the insignia, and
this gave to the emblem its name, "Bear Flag,”
which signalized the movement. The garrison at
Sonoma was left in charge of William D. Ide, who
issued a proclamation setting forth the objects of
the "Bear Flag Party.” The manifesto also men-

212

A MAN UNAFRAID

tioned the grievances of the settlers in being threat¬
ened with expulsion from the territory and the
"enormous exactions on goods imported into the
country.” It also voiced opposition to a "govern¬
ment that had seized upon the property of the mis¬
sions for its own aggrandizement.”

As affairs had now reached the critical stage, Fre¬
mont decided to become personally responsible for
anything that might occur. There was no telling
what contingency might arise and in order not to
place his government in an embarrassing position
by any act of his he drew up his resignation from
the army and forwarded it to Senator Benton and
by him to be transmitted to the War Department
should this become necessary. Thus the Captain
placed himself on safe ground as an officer of the
United States. Matters in California were in a some¬
what chaotic condition, and as yet no word had
reached Fremont that hostilities between this coun¬
try and Mexico had really begun. The difficulty
under which he was placed was the sixty or ninety
days required to communicate with Washington.
Relying on his own judgment he decided definitely
to oppose the Mexican authorities, knowing that
war would be the inevitable result. Senator Benton
in his "Thirty Years” says:

"The verbal communications from the Secretary
of State were that Mr. Fremont should watch and
counteract any foreign scheme on California and
conciliate the good will of the inhabitants toward
the United States. ... It was not to be supposed
that Lieutenant Gillespie had been sent so far and
through so many dangers merely to deliver a com-

CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA

213

mon letter of introduction on the shores of Kla¬
math Lake.”

Captain Sutter was very much surprised when he
learned that Fremont had sanctioned the actions of
the Bear Flag Party in taking Vallejo prisoner, and
no doubt this was communicated to the Captain, as
Bidwell says some words passed between them and
"Sutter came to me with tears in his eyes and said
that Fremont had told him that he was a Mexican
and that if he did not like what he was doing he
would set him across the San Joaquin and he could
go and join the Mexicans.” Soon afterward, how¬
ever, this little tiff was forgotten and normal friend¬
ship resumed. It must be remembered that Fremont
entertained a certain distrust of Sutter since he had
sent a report of the Captain’s arrival in the territory
to Micheltorena.

In answer to appeals from members of the Bear
Flag Party Fremont took his men and proceeded to
Sonoma, where he learned that the Americans un¬
der Captain Ford had just defeated a body of Cali¬
fornians led by Captain de la Torre of Castro’s
forces and had liberated a number of American
prisoners, among them being Todd, who had
painted the Bear Flag.

During the course of the Sonoma occupation the
Californians had captured two Americans named
Cowie and Fowler, had tied them to trees, and after
revolting cruelties had butchered them with knives.
It is said that letters were purposely sent by Torre to
be intercepted, thus allowing him to escape. At any
rate the letters were intercepted and the bearers,
Berryessa and de Haro, were shot in consequence.

214

A MAN UNAFRAID

Fremont mentions only one de Haro, but certain
historians claim there were two brothers and that
Kit Carson killed them. The Captain says that his
scouts, mainly Delawares, influenced by the feel¬
ing of the settlers on account of the brutal murder,
“made sharp retaliation.” It is far more probable
that the Delawares were to blame, as such an act
was not at all in keeping with the character of the
noted scout. At best it was an unfortunate occur¬
rence.

On June 17th Castro put forth two proclama¬
tions, the first urging his countrymen to unite
against the American settlers, and the second say¬
ing “all foreigners residing among us, occupied with
their business, may rest assured of the protection of
all authorities of the department, whilst they re¬
frain entirely from all revolutionary movements.”
This was something of a change from the austere
attitude he had formerly assumed.

Fremont was joined at Sonoma by Bidwell, and
the Bear Flag was still flying from its mast. The
Captain advised that the Americans organize at
once. Now that he saw the movement was destined
to endure he resolved to take an active part in its
proceedings and use it to the benefit of the United
States. He would take advantage of a fine oppor¬
tunity. The meeting for organization having taken
place it was necessary to issue a proclamation, and
several were suggested but were thought too long.
Gillespie acted as judge and finally accepted one of
Bidwell’s, which said: “The undersigned hereby
agree to organize for the purpose of gaining and
maintaining the independence of California.” Bid-

CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA

215

well says that Fremont’s remarks on that occasion
"gave us no light on any phase of the situation. He
neither averred nor denied that he was acting under
orders from the United States government.” How¬
ever, he did say that unless the men should conduct
themselves in a proper manner he would have noth¬
ing to do with the movement. Three companies
were organized. The Captains were Henry L. Ford,
Granville P. Swift, and S. J. Hensley. It may be said
that Lieutenant Gillespie, special and confidential
agent for Cafifornia, was in complete accord with
Fremont and cooperated with him. Of course he
had received his instructions in Washington, and his
readiness to assist the Captain shows that he was
carrying out these instructions and was not a mere
soldier of fortune. Some historians deprecate the
Bear Flag movement, saying the men who fostered
it were utterly irresponsible and treated the Mexi¬
cans unjustly. In brief, they accuse every Ameri¬
can settler north of San Francisco Bay of being in
a revolt that was unnecessary and essentially harm¬
ful, whereas the Bear Flag Party was organized by
serious, high-minded, and patriotic Americans who
were rightly concerned over the actions of the Mex¬
ican government and who did not intend to have
their lands taken from them. It was well known
by many of the settlers that the Mexican officials
would stop at nothing when once aroused, and it
behooved the Americans to look to their own inter¬
ests and not take the Mexican’s sense of equity for
granted. The Bear Flag Party was organized for
good and sufficient reasons, and even though a few
of its members behaved in an unseemly manner at

2i6

A MAN UNAFRAID

times, it is nothing against the party as a whole.
All organizations and all armies have their scape¬
goats. This cannot be avoided.

Misled by the intercepted letters Fremont mean¬
time had gone after de la Torre, but he had made
good his escape by taking a launch at Sausalito and
crossing the bay. The Captain followed and ob¬
tained a boat from the master of the Moscow^ lyi^ig
at anchor at Sausalito, and with a company of
twelve men crossed to Fort Point on the southern
side of the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Fie had
learned that the fort was garrisoned by very few
and anticipated but little trouble in capturing it.
On clambering up the sheer bluff in the gray of the
morning a party of horsemen was seen leaving the
fort in the direction of San Francisco. The post
was deserted and its fourteen guns were promptly
spiked by Stepp. With the retreat of de la Torre
Mexican authority ceased in California north of
San Francisco.

The complete organization of the Bear Flag Party
at Sonoma was celebrated by a grand ball on the
night of July 4th, when Fremont addressed the as¬
sembly briefly, mentioning the responsibility he had
assumed as an officer of the United States Army
and trusting to the settlers to do nothing which
would discredit themselves or their country. He
was given command of the two hundred and
twenty- four men at Sonoma which, combined with
his one hundred and sixty, made an armed force to
be reckoned with. He felt that the existence of
this small army was due to his presence in the valley,
as it no doubt was.

CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA

217

Shortly after this meeting at Sonoma the Captain
sent out parties for horses to mount the battalion
and to bring in cattle for its support. Most of these
animals were procured from General Vallejo’s es¬
tate. They were afterward paid for by the United
States government, as was also Captain Sutter for
the use of his fort.

Commander Montgomery was in close touch
with Fremont and in a letter congratulated him on
his successful operations against the Mexicans, con¬
sidering the capture of Sonoma "a master stroke.”
Although remaining neutral the Commander’s
sympathy was wholly with the Americans, so much
so, indeed, that Castro complained to him of the
Portsmouth’s boats going around the bay "armed
for the purpose of examining its trade.”

On July 6th Fremont returned to his camp on
the American Fork, leaving fifty men at Sonoma
and taking with him some small fieldpieces from the
fort. In the meantime Castro had left for San Juan,
which mission was fortified with eight pieces of ar¬
tillery. It was reported that he had a force of four
hundred men. On the loth the Captain was re¬
joiced to hear from Montgomery that Commodore
Sloat had hoisted the flag of the United States on
the Custom Flouse at Monterey and that he, him¬
self, had displayed the national emblem at San Fran¬
cisco and had sent a flag to Sonoma. Fie requested
Fremont to follow Sloat’s example at Sutter’s, and
on the morning of July nth, with a salute of
twenty-one guns and amid the cheers of the people,
the colors were flung to the breeze. On the 1 2th,
the Captain received a letter from Sloat asking him

2i8

A MAN UNAFRAID

to come to Monterey as soon as possible, as if Castro
should capitulate it was of the utmost importance
that Fremont should be present. Moreover, Sloat
was very anxious to gather a force of a hundred men
or so to prevent the Indians from looting the farm¬
ers’ houses.

As soon as he could make ready Fremont, with
his original command, left for Monterey, going by
way of the San Joaquin and crossing over to San Juan.
Castro had gone on to Los Angeles, and the Captain
took possession of San Juan, leaving but a few men
in charge, as no further trouble from the north was
anticipated. On the 19 th the party continued
through the Gomez Pass toward Monterey, giving
a "marching salute” to Gavilan Peak, on which they
had hoisted the flag a brief four months before. It
was a day of excitement when they arrived at their
destination. Several of the men had never before
seen the ocean or had obtained a glimpse of the
flag of England. Four American battleships lay in
the harbor. There was also the Collingwood, an
English man-of-war, carrying eighty-one guns and
commanded by Rear Admiral Sir George Seymour.
As an indication of the uncertain relations existing
between the Americans and English, Fremont was
told by Midshipman Beale that upon the appearance
of the Collingwood all officers and men of the
American ships who were ashore were recalled. On
reaching his vessel, the Congress^ he found the men
at quarters. It is stated in a letter written by ex-
Governor Rodman Price of New Jersey, who was an
officer under Commodore Sloat, that the first thing
Seymour said on meeting the American Com-

CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA

219

mander was, **Sloat, if your flag was not flying on
shore I should have hoisted mine there.” However,
it was too late for that, as the United States had
won the coveted prize.

The appearance of Fremont’s men was in strong
contrast to the natty dress of the officers and ma¬
rines who filled the streets. Lieutenant Frederick
Walpole of the Collingwood, in describing the en¬
trance of the Captain, says:

**During our stay in Monterey Captain Fremont
and his men arrived. They naturally excited curi¬
osity. Here were true trappers, the class that pro¬
duce the heroes of Fennimore Cooper’s best works.
These men had passed years in the wilds, living upon
their own resources; they were a curious set. A vast
cloud of dust first appeared and thence in long file
emerged this wildest wild party. Fremont rode
ahead, a spare, active looking man, with such an
eye! He was dressed in a blouse and leggings and
wore a felt hat. After him came five Delaware In¬
dians, who were his bodyguard and have been with
him through all his wanderings; they had charge
of two baggage horses. The rest, many of them
blacker than Indians, rode two and two, the rifle
held by one hand across the pommel of the saddle.
Thirty-nine of them are his original men; the rest
are loafers picked up lately. His original men are
principally backwoodsmen from the state of Ten¬
nessee and the upper waters of the Missouri. He has
one or two with him who enjoy a high reputation
on the prairies. Kit Carson is as well known there
as *the Duke’ is in Europe. The dress of these men
was principally a long loose coat of deerskin, tied

220

A MAN UNAFRAID

with thongs in front; trousers of the same, of their
own manufacture which, when wet through, they
take off and scrape well with a knife and put on
as soon as dry; the saddles were of various fashions,
though these and a large drove of horses and a brass
field gun were things they had picked up about
California. They are allowed no liquor — tea and
sugar only; this no doubt has much to do with their
good conduct; and the discipline, too, is very strict.
They were marched up to an open space on the hills
near the town under some large firs and there took
up their quarters in messes of six or seven in the
open air. The Indians lay beside their leader. One
man, a doctor, six feet six high, was an odd look¬
ing fellow. May I never come under his hands.”

Lieutenant Wise, U. S. N., who saw Monterey
about the time Fremont entered it, says, "The town
— if it could be dignified by the title — we found a
mean, irregular collection of mud huts and long,
low adobe dwellings, strewn promiscuously over
an easy slope down to the water’s edge.” Fremont
says:

"I went into camp beyond the town, near the
sea, on a flat among firs and pines toward the top of
the ridge fronting the bay. This was a delightful
spot. Before us to the right was the town of Mon¬
terey with its red-tiled roofs and large gardens en¬
closed by high adobe walls, capped with red tiles;
to the left the view was over the ships in the bay
and on over the ocean, where the July sun made the
sea breeze and the shade of the pine trees grateful.”

Whatever the appearance of Monterey at that
time it was always picturesque. There hung over it

CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA

221

the atmosphere of old Spain, of poetry and ro¬
mance, something, despite its modern commercial¬
ism, it retains even to this day. The town presented
an entirely different aspect than when Fremont
visited it the January before under a Mexican pass¬
port. Three nations were now represented among
the inhabitants, and the little village had a lively
appearance. Between the Monterey of Fremont’s
time and of today many startling changes have
occurred. The old Mexican adobes are now pointed
out to tourists as curiosities, wedged in as they are
between business blocks. Fremont street, down
which the Captain and his men marched when they
came into the town, is substantially paved and leads
into the main business thoroughfare, which bears a
Mexican name, and is usually crowded with auto¬
mobiles and shoppers. The Custom Fiouse, where
the flag of the United States was raised by Commo¬
dore Sloat, still stands in an excellent state of preser¬
vation — a silent witness of the evolution that has
been going on. The old adobes, which have an his¬
toric interest, are jealously guarded, and none of
importance have been disturbed.

The sun-browned frontiersmen with Fremont
now entered into a period of absolute enjoyment.
The officers and men from the warships in the har¬
bor were frequent visitors to the camp and were
much interested by the shooting done by the Dela¬
wares, who put up targets against the pines to test
their marksmanship.

Immediately upon his arrival Fremont, accom¬
panied by Lieutenant Gillespie, called on Commo¬
dore Sloat on board the Savannah. Sloat appeared

222

A MAN UNAFRAID

very much perturbed and after a few preliminary
remarks said that he had applied to Gillespie, know¬
ing him to be an agent of the government, for his
authority in taking up arms against the Mexicans,
but that he had refused to give it. He then asked
Fremont by what instructions he had acted, by
what authority he had opposed the government of
Mexico. The Commodore fancied that his own ac¬
tion in hoisting the flag would be supported by some
absolute written instructions from Washington to
Fremont, and when he learned that the Captain had
no written orders, but had acted on his own judg¬
ment, he was more than shocked. In truth he was
amazed, dumfounded. He had expected Fremont
to have acted under written instructions and would
listen to no further explanation. Nor would the
Captain argue the matter nor attempt to convince
the Commodore that what he had done would meet
with the approval of the government. Fremont was
likewise surprised that Sloat should question the
matter. Doubtless he had in mind the somewhat
serious mistake of a United States officer. Com¬
mander Jones, who had formerly hoisted the flag
in Monterey, only to be ordered to haul it down.
The thought of this incident filled the Commodore
with fear and foreboding. It struck Fremont as
rather humorous that the Commander of a squad¬
ron should rely upon him to Justify his action in
hoisting the flag. The interview terminated ab¬
ruptly, the Commodore appearing greatly con¬
cerned. It would seem that Sloat was not in a frame
of mind to court hostilities, as on leaving Mazat-
lan on June 8 th he had written to Secretary Ban-

CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA

223

croft that he would not take possession of Califor¬
nia until he learned that one or the other of the
nations had declared war, in spite of the fact that he
had received from Consul Parrot a letter informing
him that the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la
Palma had been fought. Under his instructions he
did not feel justified in beginning hostilities, al¬
though it was very humiliating to him not to do so,
as the world knew that the United States was at
war with Mexico on the other coast. He was fearful
lest he should exceed his orders and consequently
had remained inactive. For this he received a repri¬
mand from George Bancroft, Secretary of the
Navy, which reads as follows:

U. S. Navy Department,

Commodore:

Washington, Aug. 13 th, 1846.

The department has received your letter No. 51 of
June 6th, from which it appears that while you were
aware of the existence of "actual war” between the
United States and Mexico you remained in a state of
inactivity and did not carry out the instructions of June
24th, 1845, framed to be executed even in the event of
the mere declaration of war, much more in the event of
actual hostilities. These instructions you were ordered to
carry out "at once.”

In my letter of Aug. 5th, 1845, the receipt of which
you acknowledged on the 28th of Jan., 1846, referring
to them I said, "In the event of war you will obey the
instructions recently addressed to you via Panama.”

In my letter of October 17th, 1845, of which you ac¬
knowledged receipt on the 17th of March, 1846, refer¬
ring to these instructions once more I said further: "In
event of actual hostilities between the Mexican govern¬
ment and our own you will so dispose of your whole force

224

A MAN UNAFRAID

as to carry out most effectually the objects specified in the
instructions forwarded to you from the department in
view of such a contingency.” And surely there was no
ambiguity in this language. . . . The department will¬
ingly believes in the purity of your intentions. But your
anxiety not to do wrong has led you into a most unfor¬
tunate and unwarranted inactivity.

Very respectfully yours,

George Bancroft.

What is stranger still, Commodore Sloat, on en¬
tering the bay of Monterey June 2nd, sent an officer
ashore to tender the usual civilities by offering to
salute the Mexican flag. This proceeding puzzled
his men, for they all knew that the Mexicans had
begun an offensive against the United States troops
on the Rio Grande and that our warships were
blockading the coast of Mexico on the Gulf. Thus
it will be seen that Fremont was really responsible
for the raising of the flag by Sloat. Without the
Captain’s activity in the north there would have
been no flag-raising in Monterey at that time, as the
Commodore was determined to act only on written
authority. He thought such instructions had been
sent the Captain. Otherwise, he concluded, Fre¬
mont would not have dared oppose the Mexican au¬
thorities. But this officer well knew the wishes of
the government in regard to California and was
keen to take advantage of the opportunity that had
presented itself to acquire the territory for his coun¬
try. His very boldness was the inspiration;^ ■>f Com¬
modore Sloat. In his admirable work, "Fremont
and ’49,” Frederick S. Dellenbaugh says in reply to
the criticism of certain historians on Fremont:

CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA

225

‘‘Why, it may be asked, did it happen that Cap¬
tain Fremont found himself, after a previous thor¬
ough reconnaissance, in California with sixty skilled
marksmen, at the opportune moment, and with
orders from Washington to act according to his best
judgment?

"Fremont was playing a waiting game as far as
he was able to do so. It was not possible for him to
be definite under the circumstances, and he daily
expected news of the beginning of war, which
would have given him a free hand in cooperation
with the navy, for the cooperation of the navy in
the event of war was, of course, a foregone conclu¬
sion. Rumors of hostilities on the Rio Grande came
through Indian sources, finally confirmed by Com¬
modore Sloat. No specific instructions to cooper¬
ate were necessary to the officers, but Sloat proved
to possess no initiative and exhibited a singular re¬
luctance to act when the time came. The Bear Flag
revolt was a spontaneous outgrowth of conditions
which had been augmenting in California for a
number of years. It was partly precipitated by
Mexican orders issued on account of the nearness of
the impending war, and it was, therefore, hardly
as accidental at this time as Professor Royce as¬
sumes. Diplomats and leaders, who could not have
prognosticated with some degree of exactness most
of the events from the happenings of the last two or
three years, would have been blockheads. Every¬
thing had been leading toward these events as surely
as brooks from the mountains flow down to the mas¬
ter stream. There was no mystery about it all; but
actions had to be shaped to immediate conditions.

226

A MAN UNAFRAID

There certainly is little ground for sneers concern¬
ing the efforts of a loyal American officer to find his
duty and to do it to the best of his judgment and
ability; on the contrary, his action should be com¬
mended, and I hope Fremont may be treated more
generously in the future. Ridicule and contumely
are, perhaps, entertaining, but they are neither criti¬
cism nor argument. Fremont may not always have
done the best thing, but he did what his deliberate
judgment dictated, and on the whole he did remark¬
ably well.”

The sight of the Stars and Stripes flying from its
mast at the Custom House at Monterey amply re¬
paid the Captain for all the suffering he had en¬
dured and all the dangers he had braved. He expe¬
rienced a great sense of relief as well as satisfaction.
There would be no turning back. The proclama¬
tion had gone forth that California was a possession
of the United States and as such it would remain
eternally. Nor was there any danger of a foreign
power interfering. The coast line of this beautiful
land was now the westernmost boundary of the
American Republic.

On leaving the Savannah and its disgruntled
commander, Fremont took a long walk to Point
of Pines, the rocky headland forming the southern
entrance to Monterey Bay, near Pacific Grove.
Here he sat down and mused upon the recent stir¬
ring events in which he had been so actively con¬
cerned. Perhaps he little dreamed that in seventy-
five years there would be vast farms in California
and great, prosperous cities in whose harbors the
ships of the seven seas would cast anchor, and close

CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA

227

to where he was then sitting hundreds of automo¬
biles would pass each day in an almost continuous
procession. The remarkable changes to take place
in less than a century, when the air pilots winged
their flight across desert lands where once the emi¬
grant trains crawled slowly along, Fremont could
not have visualized. He could picture a bright fu¬
ture for the new possession, but what it would be¬
come in a comparatively short space of time it was
not possible for him to realize. He was highly
elated with the outcome of affairs. His anxiety was
over. The goal for which he had striven was reached.
The conquest of California was complete. The con¬
summation of his hopes had been fulfilled, and he
could now rest with a contented mind here by the
sea.

Sitting alone he drank in the marvelous beauty
of Monterey Bay. The sky was a deep blue. A thin
veil of haze dimmed the shoreline toward Santa
Cruz. The invigorating breeze blew in fresh from
the sea and stirred the colors that floated from the
warships in the bay. The July sun riding above
transformed the waters into innumerable sapphires
and diamonds that danced and shimmered in the
golden light like jewels on the neck of a queen. The
breakers crowded and jostled each other among the
rugged rocks of the point, fringing with snowy
foam the narrow strip of beach and covering the
jagged granite with robes of softest ermine. At
times the billows lunged against the massive bowl¬
ders with tremendous fury, sending the flying
spume high into the air, while clouds of spray rose
from the crest of the breakers and drifted land-

228

A MAN UNAFRAID

ward like smoke. Above this carnival of waves the
sea gulls floated on motionless wings, or swept
downward with delight into the hollows of the
thundering seas. Black cormorants stood like sen¬
tinels on the tops of half-submerged ledges, and the
cries of the waterfowl sounded faintly above the
ocean’s perpetual din. Here was the eternal wash
of turbulent waters, the music and mystery of the
sea to which Captain Fremont listened with a mind
free from care and worry and hardships of toilsome
journeys over the sun-scorched deserts and through
the white ranges of the great Western wilderness.

CHAPTER IX

Commodore Stockton T akes Supreme Command

Following a few days of indecision Captain Fre¬
mont called on Commodore Stockton on board the
Congress. He was second in command and Fremont
told him of his interview with Sloat and of its un¬
satisfactory termination. Stockton ventured no
comment, but requested the Captain to remain in
the territory a while longer as in a few days he was
to take command of the squadron himself, when he
would decide on future operations. The next day
Stockton addressed a letter to Sloat in which he ad¬
vised the latter either to capture Castro or drive him
out of the country. He also said that Fremont’s
men should be sent south to accomplish this and
suggested further that Sloat would be relieved of all
trouble should he assume command at once. This
suggestion was evidently not received with favor,
for Stockton was transferred to the Cyane, then
lying in the harbor. Says Stockton:

*T then stated that it was very important that
these Mexican officers should be driven out of the
country or taken prisoners and requested him to
place under my command the United States ship of
war Cyane; he did so. Having then the command
of all the forces on shore and the Congress and
Cyane, I immediately sent word to Captain Fre¬
mont of what had occurred and to let him know
that if he and Lieutenant Gillespie, with the men
who were with them, would volunteer to serve

(229)

230

A MAN UNAFRAID

under my command as long as I was in command of
the territory and desired their services, I would
form a battalion and appoint Captain Fremont the
Major and the Lieutenant a Captain and all the
other necessary officers.”

In accepting Stockton’s proposal Fremont de¬
prived himself of the independent position he occu¬
pied as the head of a topographical party, but was
more than willing to comply with the request, as
were his men.

On July 29 th Commodore Sloat sailed for home
on the Levant with Commander Paige. Stockton
then assumed entire command and appointed, as
Alcalde of Monterey, the Reverend Walter Colton.
The battalion under Fremont was soon ready to em¬
bark for San Diego on the Cyane, as but a few hours
were required for the move. The camp was always
in a condition for a quick departure. From the
Lortsmouty s store of supplies Fremont obtained
some clothing for the men, sailor shirts of blue and
white with collars bearing stars at the points. Few
of the men wore buckskin as this was not a common
dress among them. It was something of a trial for a
number of the scouts to come under military disci¬
pline, as they had enjoyed a comparatively free ex¬
istence, relying to a great extent on their own judg¬
ment in case of emergency. When told that Stock-
ton felt authorized to pay them ten dollars a month
for their services they were much amused, but said
they would go anyway and would leave it to the
government to decide what their remuneration
should be. The greater part of the battalion was
composed of hardened emigrants, men accustomed

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 23 1

to an open-air life and the hardships of roughing it.
Moreover, they were very expert in the use of fire¬
arms and could easily defeat an enemy of twice their
number under ordinary circumstances.

The battalion embarked on the warship Cyane,
and owing to the season of the year the men antici¬
pated a very pleasant trip, but the majority of them
were horribly seasick, Carson being the most af¬
flicted. He was a man of the mountain and the
plain and was therefore a bad sailor. He was truly
thankful when the ship entered the calm waters of
San Diego Bay.

The battalion was received in a most friendly
manner by one of the chief citizens, Don Juan Ban-
dini, and by the Captain of the Port, Don Santiago
Arguello. These two men, especially Bandini,
proved very helpful to Fremont in getting horses
and cattle from the surrounding country, with
which Fremont was entirely unacquainted. Ban¬
dini was the father-in-law of Don Abel Stearns of
Los Angeles, one of the most prominent Americans
of the district. From the family of Bandini Fre¬
mont received many social attentions and was pre¬
sented with a beautiful sorrel horse, well trained
and fond of sugar. Fremont felt safe in relying on
these gentlemen to support him in quietly obtaining
possession of the country, authorizing Bandini to
spread the news of his peaceful intentions among
the Californians. To conciliate the people was his
principal object. His march to Los Angeles was
rendered very pleasant by the great amount of food
provided for his men. There was no more starva¬
tion and no privations, but plenty of choice beef

232

A MAN UNAFRAID

and a wonderful variety of fruit. He found that
Castro was camped on the mesa close to the town
and that he had a force of about five hundred and
sixty men and ten cannon. Commodore Stockton
had told Fremont that he would join him in Los
Angeles with a force of three hundred and sixty
men and some artillery. The leader of the battalion
confidently expected Castro to attack him before a
junction could be made with Stockton. He had
only one hundred and twenty men with him, but
save for an occasional horseman nothing was seen
of the enemy.

On August 13 th Fremont joined Stockton and
they entered Los Angeles unopposed. Their parade
through the streets might be compared to that of
a company of home guards rather than a force tak¬
ing possession of a conquered town. In the mean¬
time General Castro had abandoned his camp on the
mesa, his men being dispersed over the country,
while he took refuge in the mountains overlooking
the San Gabriel plains. Various detachments were
sent out to look for Castro’s officers and bring
them in, together with any Californians who may
have become frightened and left the town. TheGov-
ernor, Don Pio Pico, had gone to his country place
on the coast some forty miles to the south. Fremont
wrote him a letter, inviting him to return to Los
Angeles and assuring him there would be full pro¬
tection for both himself and his property. Al¬
though the invitation was not accepted at once, the
letter led to very friendly relations between the
commander of the battalion and Pico’s brother,
Don Andres.

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 233

On the 17th Stockton issued a proclamation,
treating California as a territorial possession of the
United States. He occupied himself with creating a
civil government and in forming such regulations
as would best preserve order. He divided the ter¬
ritory into three districts. Before sailing for the
southern coast of Mexico he wrote to Fremont say¬
ing that on the 2 5 th of the month he would meet
him in San Francisco and would appoint him mili¬
tary Governor of the territory and Gillespie Com¬
mandant of the Southern district, with headquar¬
ters at Los Angeles. Despite the existence of martial
law the civil officers of the country were permitted
to proceed with the usual exercise of their func¬
tions and were not to be disturbed save in excep¬
tional cases requiring military authority. The orders
making Fremont military Governor, together with
others, were to be forwarded to Secretary Bancroft,
and the man chosen to deliver them was none other
than Kit Carson. The noted scout was to go direct
to Senator Benton, who would personally intro¬
duce him to the President and the Secretary of the
Navy. It would be rather an event in Carson’s ca¬
reer and one which he entered upon with enthusi¬
asm. On the way he would have the opportunity
of visiting his family at Taos, New Mexico. It was
planned that he should go by the Virgin River trail
through Mexican territory where the Indians were
both numerous and dangerous. Fremont was greatly
pleased to have Carson the bearer of the messages as
he would convey by word of mouth many details
not possible otherwise. He would be warmly wel¬
comed by Mrs. Fremont, to whom he would impart

^34

A MAN UNAFRAID

many interesting things in regard to the experiences
and adventures of her husband. This trip of Car¬
son’s to Washington, however, had an unfortunate
termination of which more will be said later.

Commodore Stockton began his preparations for
the voyage to Mexico, requesting Fremont to go
into the Sacramento Valley and try to get enough
men to bring the force of the battalion up to three
hundred. At the same time he wished him to ascer¬
tain how many would join him in an expedition
against Mexico. In September Fremont left Los
Angeles with thirty-five men and followed up the
coast, enjoying the beautiful scenery and the
equally charming weather.

In the meantime things were occurring elsewhere
that had a direct bearing on the California situation.
On June 3rd, 1846, General Kearny received orders
to cross the plains and take possession of both Cali¬
fornia and New Mexico. He was the first regular
army officer to enter this territory, Fremont having
been attached to the Topographical Corps. At that
time the Governor of New Mexico was Armijo,
who has been described as a brute and a coward and
who had treated the Texans in the most cruel man¬
ner. Salezar, his chief general, was a man of the same
stripe as was Colonel Archuleta, who was in for
fighting the Americans. Diplomacy interfered,
however. A certain James Magoffin, first United
States Consul at Chihuahua, had been sent by the
Washington authorities to prevent bloodshed by ne¬
gotiations. It is said the east bank of the Rio Grande
was as far as the American advance was to go, and
on this understanding the Mexicans consented to

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 235

make no attack on the United States troops. Gen¬
eral Kearny did not seem to understand the situa¬
tion and on August i8th, 1846, he entered the
town of Santa Fe unopposed and took up his head¬
quarters in the 'Talace,” proclaiming the annexa¬
tion of all of New Mexico. Armijo lost no time in
making his departure, fearing his own people as
well as the enemy, and Kearny proceeded to organ¬
ize a government, after which, with his force of
dragoons, he set out for CaUfornia.

Meanwhile Fremont was traveling north, where,
in the Salinas Valley, he encountered a number of
grizzly bears, both young and old. They afforded a
strenuous time for the party while they lasted. One
immense grizzly caused considerable commotion.
He was on the opposite bank of the river and on
being shot at, retreated into a willow grove. Dick
Owens, William Knight (of Knight’s Ferry) and
Fremont went in pursuit. They were moving cau¬
tiously through the clumps of willows, when in
passing a thicket Knight heard the bear right at his
heels, and wheeling about he fired at the animal with
his double-barreled gun when not over ten feet
away, killing it instantly. Knight, who was a set¬
tler, served under Fremont as scout and hunter.

Late in the month they reached the Sacramento
Valley. In his twelve weeks* absence Fremont noted
many changes. There was no more talk of Indian
uprisings and new settlers were flocking in by the
score. New homes were being built, new farms were
under cultivation, and the general development of
the country was proceeding rapidly. Upon inquiry
it was found that it would be impossible to recruit

236

A MAN UNAFRAID

men for Stockton’s proposed expedition into Mex¬
ico. The incoming settlers were pretty well satisfied
with their present condition. They were not at all
anxious to fight except to protect themselves and
their country and could see no especial reason for
going to Mexico. Moreover, they were getting
homes for themselves in the new territory, which
they did not care to leave. This information had
no more than reached Stockton when reports came
to him that an insurrection had broken out in
Southern California, where a Mexican Captain, Jose
Maria Flores, aided by other Mexican officers, had
started a revolution.

Gillespie was besieged in the government build¬
ing in Los Angeles. The Commodore ordered Fre¬
mont to come immediately to San Francisco with
as many men and horses as he could get for the
southern part of the territory which had been
placed under martial law. In doing so he had acted
with little or no knowledge of the customs or the
habits of the Californians, who were essentially a
free people, not subject to regulations or exactions.
They regarded the new order of things as very
oppressive, as it robbed them of that personal lib¬
erty to which they had always been used. They
were a careless and pleasure-loving people given to
social enjoyment, no restrictions of any kind having
been placed upon them. Naturally this martial law,
prohibiting many things to which they had been
accustomed, was exceedingly annoying. They re¬
sented it from the start. Therefore it took but little
encouragement and agitation and an energetic
leader for them to rebel. Among the various regu-

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 237

lations inaugurated by Commodore Stockton, who
was given to the strict discipline of life aboard a
man-of-war, were two especially obnoxious to the
Californians. One of these called for a permit from
Gillespie for any one who wished to be out of the
house before sunrise; the other required a written
order before a person was permitted to carry fire¬
arms. All these exactions were foreign to the peo¬
ple. They could not understand what it all meant.
Such regulations were ill adapted under the cir¬
cumstances.

*Tn the same spirit afterward were the arbitrary
exactions, amounting to confiscation, rigorously
enforced against them by the government in regard
to the lands, which were absolutely their sole means
of existence,*’ writes Fremont. '*All this regardless
of the usages and tenure of a century. The promises
of our government, while the object was to concili¬
ate and disarm any hostile feeling of the people,
were full of good will and consideration, but their
acts, when they had acquired the power to act, were
not only ill judged and ill adapted to the interests
of these people, but arbitrary and oppressive, and
while apparently only in the exercise of rights
which they had purchased, singularly inequitable
and false in the highest degree to their promises and
treaty obligations.”

To bring Fremont and his men to San Francisco
the Commodore sent a fleet of small boats under
command of Midshipman Edward Beale, who wrote
a very humorous account of his experiences among
the sloughs and bullrushes of the lower Sacramento.
Young Beale became a fast friend of Fremont — a

238

A MAN UNAFRAID

friendship that continued for over forty years. The
Commander of the Battalion reported to Stockton
the following morning that he had obtained the
services of one hundred and seventy men, well
armed and with equipment to mount as many
horses when these animals could be found. The
command went aboard the ship Sterling, bound for
Santa Barbara, in the hope of springing a surprise
on the enemy. At the same time Stockton ordered
Captain Mervine of the Savannah, then lying in
Monterey Bay, to proceed direct to San Pedro in
order to give support to the little garrison supposed
to be in Los Angeles. Between San Francisco and
Monterey the Commodore spoke the merchant ves¬
sel Barnstable, and was given a dispatch from Cap¬
tain Maddox informing him that an attack on Mon¬
terey was anticipated and asking immediate aid.
Stockton steered the Congress into Monterey Bay,
where he strengthened the garrison there by an
additional fifty men. He then continued down the
coast, touching at Santa Barbara to find if Fremont
in his sailing vessel had been able to surprise the
town. Not finding the Sterling there he went on to
San Pedro, where he found the Savannah.

Captain Gillespie on his capitulation at Los An¬
geles had taken his garrison to San Pedro, where the
merchant ship V and alia was lying at anchor. Cap¬
tain Mervine, acting under orders, took a part of his
men, together with Gillespie’s, and attempted to
force his way to Los Angeles. Not having any artil¬
lery with him he was met and defeated by a party
of Californians, who were well equipped and well
mounted, his force being on foot. In the engagement

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 239

Mervine had four men killed and several wounded.
He was compelled to retreat to his ship. The Cali¬
fornians handled their one fieldpiece with telling
effect, always keeping just beyond the range of the
American guns. When the bullets began to come
too close they would lasso their cannon and drag it
to a safe distance, when they would again open fire.
By this means they were able to harass the advancing
troops and make their march unendurable. Com¬
modore Stockton was very much displeased with
this incident as he felt it would give great encour¬
agement to the Californians.

Having learned from the Vandalia of what had
happened to Mervine and of conditions in the south,
Fremont left Santa Barbara for Monterey in the
hope of obtaining horses in that region. While in
Monterey on the 27th of October he learned that
he had been appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of a
Rifle Regiment in the army of the United States.
His commission was dated May 29 th and was signed
by President Polk. It must be remembered that
such rapid advancement, vaulting over the heads
of so many West Point men, may have had some¬
thing to do with the unfortunate occurrence after¬
ward, when we consider the grounds on which it
was based.

Meantime Stockton landed a force at San Pedro,
and, although there was some desultory firing by the
Californians, he once more hoisted the flag and pro¬
ceeded to garrison the town. There were daily
skirmishes and the Commodore’s patience was well
nigh exhausted in waiting for Fremont. Stockton
would not undertake the march to Los Angeles as

240

A MAN UNAFRAID

Mervine’s experience was enough to teach him the
folly of putting infantry against cavalry. Leaving
the Savannah to look out for Fremont, the Com¬
modore set sail for San Diego, where Lieutenant
Minor was in command. The Lieutenant had re¬
ported the town was beseiged by Californians, men
and provisions being required for the garrison. Cap¬
tain Gillespie was ordered ashore with supplies and
that portion of the battalion which had been at Los
Angeles.

At the request of Lieutenant Minor, Captain
Gibson was sent with a party to a number of ranches
near the coast, where Senor Bandini said he thought
some horses were obtainable. Meanwhile, Colonel
Fremont had written to Commodore Stockton in¬
forming him of the cause of his delay. The Com¬
modore returned to San Pedro and sent the Savan¬
nah to Monterey to aid Fremont in getting away.
Returning to San Diego he managed to cross the bar
into the harbor, where his ship would be protected
from the occasional windstorms. Captain Gibson
arrived with some cattle and horses, but the latter
were in such poor condition that it would take a
number of weeks to get them fit for service.

The day Stockton arrived in San Diego the Cali¬
fornians made an attack on the town, but were
forced out with the loss of two men and several
wounded. While there the Commodore found that
his wily enemy had driven off every horse within
fifty miles of the town. It then occurred to Stock-
ton to send a vessel down the coast to Lower Cali¬
fornia, where the news of hostilities had not, in all
probability, reached the ears of the ranchers and

— Photo by Robinson, Merced.

PENDOLA BUILDING

Bear Valley, on Fremont’s Mariposa Grant, in 1856.

— Photo by Robinson, Merced.

OSO HOUSE

Bear Valley, Mariposa, i8j6. A well-known hotel in
Fremont’s time.

£ W.

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 241

there to recruit the necessary animals. Accordingly
he sent the merchant ship Stoningtofiy with Captain
Hensley and Company B of the battalion, to voyage
down the coast on this mission, which was so essen¬
tial to the march on Los Angeles. The men in San
Diego busied themselves in making the required
equipment. Stockton then learned from two men
who came in from the enemy’s camp at San Ber¬
nardo that it was composed of about fifty soldiers,
therefore Captain Gillespie was ordered to take as
many men as could be provided with horses and one
fieldpiece and make an attempt to surprise the Cali¬
fornians. During the dayin which preparations were
being made for the start an English resident of Cali¬
fornia entered San Diego, carrying a note to the
Commodore from General Kearny, who had just
reached the border of the territory after a weary
march across the desert. The letter was sent from
Warner’s ranch, where a pass led through the moun¬
tains. Kearny told Stockton that he had stopped
in New Mexico, which he had ''annexed” to the
United States and "established a civil government,
securing order, peace, and quietness there.” He
further informed the Commodore that the "ex¬
press by Mr. Carson was met on the Del Norte and
must have reached Washington ten days since.” As
the letter called for immediate aid Stockton in reply
stated that he was sending Captain Gillespie with a
party of mounted men and one fieldpiece to his
camp, Gillespie’s command being prepared, left at
once. He had twenty-six men from the battalion
of Captain Gibson, with a detachment of ten car¬
bineers and a brass "four-pounder” from the Con-

242

A MAN UNAFRAID

gress, manned by Acting Lieutenant Beale and Mid¬
shipman Duncan. Alexis Godey had been made a
Lieutenant and was among the men from the bat¬
talion, his familiarity with the country and long
experience making him a man of inestimable value.

Captain Gillespie left San Diego about seven
o’clock in the morning. His command numbered
in all about fifty men — all the force available with
horses. The third day out he met General Kearny
in the mountains between Santa Maria and Santa
Ysabel. Though his company was small, it proved
a valuable addition to Kearny’s hundred men. The
General, on being told of the position of the Cali¬
fornians, decided to attack them as soon as possible.
That evening camp was made at San Pascual and
Lieutenant Hammond was sent out to reconnoiter.
This officer was unfortunately discovered. When
Kearny was told of this he was determined to make
an attack at daylight, though some of his men were
opposed to the plan. At two o’clock in the morning
the call to saddle was sounded and after a march
of nine miles through mud and rain they met the
enemy at the Indian village of San Pascual. Lieu¬
tenant Johnson led the advance with twelve
mounted dragoons; General Kearny and staff fol¬
lowed. Behind came Captain Moore and Lieutenant
Hammond with fifty dragoons mounted on worn-
out mules and fatigued horses. Then came Gillespie
and his portion of the battalion. Lieutenant David¬
son with two howitzers and Major Swords with the
remaining dragoons. It was evident that Kearny
anticipated an easy victory, as he had a sort of con¬
tempt for the Mexicans in general, and while he

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 243

had the advantage in point of numbers, his men
were tired and weary and were not well mounted.
Without taking time to rest, and with his animals
thin and footsore, he should not have given battle
to the enemy on this particular day. Moreover, he
was not accustomed to the tactics of the fighting
Californians.

Johnson charged the enemy at once, followed by
Moore. There was a hand-to-hand encounter, then
the Californians resorted to a strategem practiced
by them very successfully on similar occasions.
They turned and galloped off, then when the Amer¬
icans were no longer in compact formation, they
would wheel about and renew the attack with the
lances with which they were armed. The dragoons
were poorly equipped to meet these renewed on¬
slaughts, as they had emptied their guns in the be¬
ginning of the fight. Captain Moore was wounded
and dismounted at the start, but managed to re¬
mount, when he rushed at Pico, who was armed
with a lance, breaking his sword blade close to the
hilt. He was instantly killed by another Califor¬
nian. Moore’s brother-in-law. Lieutenant Ham¬
mond, seeing his predicament, rushed to his assis¬
tance, but was caught by another lance and received
a fatal wound. General Kearny, who was directly
responsible for this slaughter, was wounded as was
Lieutenant Gillespie. It was a wonder that Gillespie
was not killed outright, but the Mexican with
whom he fought was too anxious to get his silver-
mounted saddle and spared him. The mules hitched
to a howitzer ran away with it, landing in the
enemy’s ranks where they were captured and the

244

A MAN UNAFRAID

man in charge killed. The gun remained in the pos¬
session of the Californians.

The battle was of short duration, but the enemy,
by completely surrounding the Americans, who
were on a hill, rendered any further progress impos¬
sible. Word must be sent to Stockton for reenforce¬
ments, but who was to carry the message? Every
avenue of escape was closely guarded. Stockton
was the only hope. Some way must be devised for
letting him know of Kearny’s plight. The follow¬
ing extract from a speech of Senator Benton pic¬
tures very vividly this thrilling and dramatic epi¬
sode:

“The four days* siege of the hill was the period
of interesting events, which it was the duty of the
General to have told, and which he suppressed to
keep up his assumed character of victor. First, there
was the capture of the generous and daring Godey
with his two companions, in full view of Kearny’s
camp, after his adventurous run to San Diego of
forty miles to get aid for Kearny; and rapidly re¬
turning with the tidings that it was coming — -tid¬
ings which he could not deliver, because he was
captured in view of Kearny by his besiegers. The
fact had to be suppressed or the elusive cry of vic¬
tory was at an end. It was suppressed — not noticed
in the official report. Then there was the chivalry
of Don Andres Pico. He treated the captured men
with the utmost kindness — Godey as a brother. He
inquired for the killed and especially for Gillespie.
Godey told him he was not dead, but badly lanced
and that his servant in San Diego had made up some
supplies for him which he had brought. Pico put

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 245

the supplies under a flag and sent them to Gillespie
with an invitation to come to his camp. . . . The
same flag carried a proposition to exchange prison¬
ers. Kearny saw in this only a trick and a lure to
perfidy. He was afraid to meet the flag. None of
those for whom he reserved the honors of his report
to the government would venture to go. There
was a lad present — one of those sent out by Stock-
ton, a midshipman, his name, Beale. This lad vol¬
unteered to go and hear the proposition of ex¬
change.”

After the preliminaries had been arranged young
Beale entered into a parley with the enemy. Pico
had three American prisoners and Kearny one Cali¬
fornian. Pico offered to exchange man for man.
Beale was anxious to redeem Godey and described
him, but Pico refused to give him up, asking Beale
to name another. Then a man named Burgess was
mentioned and Pico agreed to exchange him for
the one Californian held by Kearny. Taking heart,
the General sent out Captain Emory to consum¬
mate the exchange, who took all the credit to him¬
self, omitting all mention of Beale in his report.
Nor did Kearny in his report speak of the honorable
conduct of Beale and Pico. Burgess, the man Pico
exchanged, could tell nothing of the mission of
Godey to San Diego as the secret of obtaining aid
from Stockton rested with Godey, who was still
a prisoner.

Finally the Americans, pressed by lack of food,
became restless and demanded to be sent forward.
Kearny gave the order to move and the command
started. Pico, ever watchful, sent his lancers to

246

A MAN UNAFRAID

head them off. Then Kearny halted his column and
consulted his officers. To advance was an utter
impossibility. What was to be done? Stockton
was some forty miles distant. To send him another
message seemed hopeless as the Mexicans watched
day and night for any messenger that might be sent
out. The situation was desperate and called for a
hero. One was provided in the person of Acting
Lieutenant Beale, who volunteered to take a mes¬
sage to Stockton. When asked who he would like
to have accompany him Beale said he would prefer
Kit Carson and his Indian servant. At last Kearny
agreed to let Carson go. They had only mule meat
to eat and each was provided with a rifle, revolver
and a sharp knife. Night came and the time for
the departure of the trio arrived. We will let Sena¬
tor Benton continue the narrative:

"The moment arrived for descending the hill and
clearing the open valley, two miles to the nearest
cover. It was a perilous descent for at the approach
of night it was the custom of Pico to draw a double
chain of sentinels around the hill and to patrol the
valley with mounted lancers — precautions more
vigilantly enforced since he learned from the cap¬
tured men that Carson was on the hill. 'Be on the
alert,’ he said to his men, 'Carson is there,’ and ap¬
plying to Kearny’s command one of the figurative
expressions so common in the Spanish language, se
escapard el lobo, the wolf will escape the hunters
if you do not watch him closely. The descent was
painful and perilous, all done by crawling, for the
upright figure of a man could not be exhibited
where the horizon was watched for all that appeared

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 247

above it. Shoes were pulled off to avoid cracking a
stick or making a sound, which the ear of the lis¬
tener pressed upon the ground could catch, and the
naked feet were exposed to the prickly pear. They
passed between sentinels, waiting and watching
their time to move an inch. They heard them
whisper and smelled the smoke of their cigarettes.
At one time Beale thought it was all over with them.
Pressing Carson’s thigh to get his attention and
putting his mouth to his ear he whispered, 'We are
gone. Let us jump and fight it out!’ Carson said,
'No, I’ve been in worse places before and Provi¬
dence saved me.’ His religious reliance inspired
the sinking hopes of Beale. The hill cleared, two
miles of prairie in the open valley, all covered with
prickly pears, remained to be crawled over, for no
one could stand upright without detection, where
the mounted vedette and the horizontal view of the
recumbent sentinel observed every object that rose
above the level plain. Clear of the valley and gain¬
ing the first woods they traveled all night without
shoes, having lost them in the dark. Rocks, stones,
pebbles, prickly pears — these of exuberant growth
— were their carpet. At daylight they took the
gorge of a mountain and laid by, for movement by
day was impossible to them; the country was on the
alert, animated to the highest degree by the success
over Kearny and all on the search for the fugitives.
At nightfall the expedition was resumed and within
twelve miles of San Diego the three adventurers
separated, each to take his chance of getting in and
thus multiply chances for getting relief to Kearny,
for San Diego was also surrounded and invested

248

A MAN UNAFRAID

and Stockton had not a horse (having sent them
all to Kearny) to scour the country a furlong in
front of his infantry pickets. The Indian got in
first, Beale next and Carson third, all in a state of
utter exhaustion; and Beale only getting into town
by the help of the picket guard who carried him,
and with injuries from which he has not yet re¬
covered. They found Stockton’s relief in the act of
setting out.”

Aside from Beale, who was badly used up, Carson
was unable to walk for several days afterwards.
Stockton sent two hundred and fifteen men under
Lieutenant Gray to Kearny’s relief and the next
day the whole command arrived in San Diego. The
General and his staff were cordially received and
given the best quarters the town afforded. Mean¬
while, however, the Commodore was more than
surprised to learn that Carson was with Kearny
when he had thought him in Washington or on
the way. As to why the famous scout was with
Kearny is best told in his own words:

‘T met General Kearny with his troops on the 6th
of October below Santa Fe. I had heard before of
their coming and when I met them the first thing I
told them was that they were too late — that Cali¬
fornia was conquered and the United States flag
raised in all parts of the country. But General Kearny
said that he would go on; and said something about
going to establish a civil government. I told him
that a civil government was already established and
Colonel Fremont appointed Governor, to com¬
mence as soon as he returned from the north some
time in that very month. General Kearny said

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 249

that made no difference; that he was a friend of
Colonel Fremont and he would make him Governor
himself. He began from the first to insist on my
turning back to guide him into California. I told
him I could not turn back — that I had pledged
myself to Commodore Stockton and Colonel Fre¬
mont to take their dispatches through to Washing¬
ton and to return with them as far as New Mexico
where my family lived and to carry them all the
way back if I did not find some one at Santa Fe
that I could trust as well as myself; that I had
promised that I would reach Washington in sixty
days and that they should have return dispatches
in one hundred and twenty days. I had performed
so much of the journey in the appointed time and,
in doing so had already worn out and killed thirty-
four mules; that Fremont and Stockton had given
me letters of credit to persons on the way to fur¬
nish me with all the animals I needed; that I was
pledged to them and could not disappoint them
and, besides, that I was under more obligations to
Colonel Fremont than to any man alive. General
Kearny would not hear to any such thing as to my
going on. He told me that he was a friend of the
Colonel and Senator Benton and would send on
the dispatches by Mr. Fitzpatrick, who had been
with Mr. Fremont in his exploring party and was
a good friend to him and would take the dispatches
through and bring them back as fast as I could.
When he could not persuade me to turn back, he
then told me he had the right to make me go with
him and insisted on his right and I did not con¬
sent to turn back till he had made me believe that

250

A MAN UNAFRAID

he had the right to order me; and then as Mr. Fitz¬
patrick was going on with the dispatches and Gen¬
eral Kearny seemed to be such a friend of the
Colonel I let him take me back; and I guided him
through, but with great hesitation, and prepared
everything to escape in the night before they
started and made known my intentions to Maxwell,
who urged me not to do so. More than twenty
times on the road General Kearny told me about his
being a friend of Colonel Fremont and that he
intended to make Colonel Fremont the Governor
of California, and all this of his own accord as we
were traveling along, or in camp, and without my
asking a word about it. This statement I make at
the request of Senator Benton, but had much
rather be examined in a court of justice, face to
face with General Kearny, and there tell at once
all that I know about General Kearny’s battles and
his conduct in California.”

While Fitzpatrick was a man who could be
trusted to deliver the dispatches, it is evident that
he could not give the verbal information as Carson
would have done, to whom many things had been
told. All Fitzpatrick could do was to act as dis¬
patch bearer, which he did as well as any other
man. It was presumptuous in General Kearny to
turn back one who had been specially commis¬
sioned by a high authority to perform a certain
act. This made the Colonel and the Commodore
very angry and was really the beginning of their
trouble with Kearny. Fremont in his "Memoirs”
calls attention to the General’s note written from
Warner’s in which he said he had merely met Car-

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 251

son, but refrained from stating the facts. The
Colonel termed this duplicity, saying that "it
showed, with the clearness of light, the quality
which was at the root of his character — a falseness
which contaminated every other quality.”

A few hours after General Kearny’s arrival at
San Diego Commodore Stockton offered to make
him commander-in-chief over his entire force.
Kearny declined, saying that the force was Stock¬
ton’s and that he would go as his aide-de-camp. The
same offer was made in the presence of several other
officers a few days later, but was again refused. It
is evident that Stockton wished Kearny to know
that he was perfectly willing to yield to him the
right to command and to place all power in his
hands. Afterward the General intimated to Stock-
ton that under his instructions he felt that he should
be Governor of California. It was then that the
Commodore reminded the General that on several
occasions he had offered to let him take complete
charge of matters in California. Kearny relied on
his instructions and Stockton said that his own in¬
structions were to the effect that "should you con¬
quer the country you will establish a civil govern¬
ment.” He had done all this and had appointed
Colonel Fremont the Governor and Captain Gilles¬
pie the Secretary. The two argued the question of
instructions in a good-natured manner, but the
stand taken by Commodore Stockton was evi¬
dently displeasing to Kearny, though he said noth¬
ing at the time.

Late in December Captain Hensley, who had
made the trip south in the Stonington in quest of

252

A MAN UNAFRAID

animals, arrived by land with a convoy of cattle
and horses, which he contrived to get into San Diego
in spite of the bands of insurgents in the vicinity.
He had disembarked at San Diego, many miles
down the coast of Lower California. Two boats
were swamped with the loss of some supplies. He
gathered together about one hundred and fifty
horses and mules and three hundred cattle, all ob¬
tained through the kindness of Senor Bandini. The
arrival of these animals enabled Commodore Stock-
ton to make preparations for his march on Los An¬
geles. After an exchange of letters between the
Commodore and the General, in which each at¬
tempted to advise the other, the hour arrived for
beginning the march to San Luis Rey. As Stockton
was about to mount his horse Kearny approached
and asked him who was to command the troops.
The Commodore told him that Lieutenant Rowan
of the Cyane was in command. Kearny said that
he would like to command the troops himself,
whereupon in the presence of other officers. Stock-
ton stated that he would make Kearny the com¬
mander under him, he to remain Commander-in-
Chief. Everything being settled satisfactorily the
troops took up their march to San Luis Rey, which
is about forty miles from San Diego.

During this time Colonel Fremont was busy
in Monterey trying to provide equipment for his
battalion. About this time there was an Indian
scare in Northern California. It was reported that
a thousand Indians of the Walla Walla tribe were
on their way to attack Sutter’s Fort. The Colonel
had a part of his battalion recruited but thought

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 253

the rumors of an Indian invasion greatly exagger¬
ated. Taking three men with him he called upon
the leaders of the Walla Wallas and they proceeded
to tell him of their wrongs. They said they had been
robbed and that the whites had killed one of their
best young men. Fremont told them that he was
to go south at once, but in the spring he would meet
them at a place agreed upon and would see that
justice was done. In the meanwhile he advised
them to go hunting and not to think of attacking
the fort. It seems that they were so pleased with the
Colonel’s talk that they gave him ten of their
number for his battalion.

It happened that the winter was unusually
severe. There was a deep fall of snow in the Sierras,
which barred all the passes to travel. It was during
this season that a terrible fate befell the Donner
Party near the head of the Truckee. There were
prolonged periods of rain and wind, and traveling
was made very arduous. Colonel Fremont sent for
his horses in the Sacramento Valley. He appointed
William H. Russell to go there for the purpose of
enlisting men, a mission for which he was well
fitted. The Colonel was aided in his work in and
around Monterey by the young secretary of Consul
Larkin, William Swasey, who was made assistant
commissary of subsistence. The northern section
of the territory was very quiet. It was in the south
where trouble continued. Flores had appointed
Don Manuel Castro, former Prefect of Monterey,
Commander-in-Chief in the north, with Don
Francisco Rico and Don Jesus Pico as his lieuten¬
ants. Flores’s plan was to restrict the American

254

A MAN UNAFRAID

forces to the seaports, the Californians controlling
the interior, thus leaving the matter of boundaries
to be decided by negotiation between the two coun¬
tries at the close of the war. Against the naval
force alone, no doubt, his plan would have met with
success for a long time, but he had not counted on
Fremont’s battalion of some five hundred marks¬
men.

Governor Alvarado at Monterey had kept his
parole as had several other prominent Mexicans.
One of the most influential Californians in the
north, Don Pablo Noriega, had been imprisoned
without cause in order to restrict his influence as
he was too sensible to imagine the forces of Castro
would meet with anything but defeat. Fremont
had heard nothing of Castro’s movements though
he expected him to strike in some unguarded spot
almost any time. The Colonel did not have to wait
long. Two men from the San Juan Valley came
into Monterey and reported that Charles Burroughs
had arrived there with thirty-five horses from the
Sacramento and was followed by a party of about
the same size. The arrival of these parties was at
once made known to Castro who was coming from
Soledad. A night or two before his scouts had
found Consul Larkin at the home of Don Joaquin
Gomez at the foot of Gavilan Peak. The Consul
was on his way to San Francisco, but was captured
and taken to Castro’s camp. Learning of Larkin’s
plight Burroughs sent a party of ten into the Salinas
Valley to reconnoiter. Six of them were Walla
Walla Indians and two were Delawares from the
Columbia. Meanwhile Castro had his scouts out in

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 2 5 5

order to be instantly advised of any move by either
Burroughs or Fremont. During the day they came
upon the scouts of Burroughs, two of whom rode
back to tell him of the approach of the Califor¬
nians, while the eight remaining retreated to a
grove of young oaks covering a strip of lowland.
The Californians numbered one hundred and thirty
men and for a full hour the eight men in the grove
held them at bay. Mr. Larkin, who was present at
the unequal battle, in writing of it says that he
"was requested several times, then commanded, to
go among the oaks and bring out his countrymen
and offer them their lives on giving up their rifles
and persons.” At length he offered to go, but on
one condition: the men were to retain their arms
and be sent either to San Juan or to Monterey. On
refusal the commanding oificer was told to go him¬
self, which he attempted to do by crawling through
the grass, but he received a bullet in his body and
was carried off on a horse by one of his men. Before
the scouts were routed out of the oaks. Burroughs
arrived with fifty troopers and made a disorderly
charge. He was mounted on Fremont’s pet horse,
Sacramento, and early in the fray Captain Bur¬
roughs was shot, but Sacramento wheeled about
suddenly from an attempt to seize him and carried
the fatally wounded rider back to his own lines.
The fight was over in half an hour, the Californians
dispersing in small bands until the Americans were
the sole occupants of the field. They had lost Cap¬
tain Burroughs and two other men, while several
were wounded. The Castro forces lost three men
and had seven wounded.

256

A MAN UNAFRAID

The following morning Fremont marched out of
Monterey to San Juan after scouring the country
for Castro’s scattered bands, but they were well out
of the way. In San Juan Fremont awaited reen¬
forcements from the Sacramento and prepared for
the trip to Los Angeles. The men of his battalion
were anxious to be on the way. They were mostly
emigrants hardened by rough knocks to an adven¬
turous life in the open and splendid rifle shots. It
would be very difficult today to gather together
five hundred such fighters as composed the Califor¬
nia Battalion. Never again will the Far West see
such an organization of sharpshooters. The back¬
bone of the battalion was the fifty or more men
of Fremont’s third expedition to whom, it will be
remembered, rifles were given for hitting the bull’s-
eye. The dress of the men is described by one of the
officers, Edwin Bryant, in his book, *'What I Saw
in California”:

'*A broad-brimmed, low-crowned hat, a shirt of
blue flannel, or buckskin, with pantaloons and
moccasins of the same, all generally worse for wear
and smeared with mud or dust, make up the cos¬
tume of the party, officers as well as men. A leathern
girdle surrounds the waist, from which are sus¬
pended a bowie and a hunter’s knife and sometimes
a brace of pistols. These with the rifle and holster
pistols are the arms carried by officers and privates.
A single bugle (a sorry one) composes the band.”

Fremont from his long experience on the plains
and in the mountains always saw that he was never
placed at such a disadvantage as Kearny at San
Pascual. In choosing his camp sites he always saw

STOCKTON TAKES COMMAND 257

that the advantage of ground was on his side. Lieu¬
tenant Louis McLane, who was afterwards United
States Minister to France, volunteered for the bat¬
talion and was sent to Gilroy with the artillery,
where he busied himself in mounting it.

On his way up the coast from Los Angeles the
Colonel had left ten men at Santa Barbara. This
was done at the request of the citizens in case some
trouble occurred. The small party was in charge
of Theodore Talbot, a young man, who had been
with Fremont on two different expeditions, and
who was afterward a Lieutenant in the United
States Army. It seems that some of the women of
Santa Barbara gave Mr. Talbot a hint of impending
danger, advising him and his men to escape while
there was yet time. As this advice was not heeded
the women offered to conceal them. But this looked
too much like cowardice and they continued to re¬
main until Flores, at the head of one hundred and
fifty men, summoned them to surrender with a
promise they should be paroled. They were given
but two hours to decide the matter, which they did
by leaving the town that night and holding up a
picket, who was compelled to let them pass. At
length they gained the summit of a mountain over¬
looking Santa Barbara, where they stayed for eight
days, meantime watching for some American ves¬
sel to come close to the coast, offering a means of
escape. They were without food and in desperate
straits. Many times they tried to capture a cow
or a sheep, but having no lasso they failed. They
did manage to get hold of an old horse that served
them for a time.

258

A MAN UNAFRAID

Finally they gave up all hope of rescue by sea,
or of going north by the regular route. During
their stay on the mountain the Californians set fire
to the woods to try to burn them out. A foreigner
was sent to them with the terms of surrender, but
they were a gritty lot, determined not to fall into
Flores’s hands. They attempted to cross the moun¬
tains and go into the San Joaquin Valley, taking
their chances with the Tulare Indians. It required
three days for the party to cross the first ridge. The
ascent was very steep and rocky in places. Once
they were half the night in making less than three
hundred yards. Meanwhile they subsisted on rose¬
buds — not very substantial food for mountain
climbing. Passing over the first ridge they fell in
with an old Spanish soldier at a rancho. From him
they got two horses and some dried beef, which
they ate with a real relish. The old soldier became
their guide and conducted them over the eighty
miles of mountainous country to the San Joaquin.
After a period of thirty-four days, in which they
traveled about five hundred miles, they at last
joined Colonel Fremont at Monterey.

CHAPTER X

The Court-Martial and the Absurd Verdict

It was close to the end of November when the
Commander of the California Battalion began his
march to Los Angeles. The weather was very in¬
clement. It had rained steadily for a number of
days and traveling was exceedingly difficult owing
to the muddy roads. Aside from this the animals
were in poor condition. The old grass was washed
by the deluge of water that had been descending
and feed was scarce. The wind blew cold and many
of the horses, too weak to travel, fell by the way-
side and were left behind. The consequence was
that before long a portion of the battalion was on
foot. Among those composing the force were a
number of Indians — Walla Wallas, a few Dela¬
wares, and a few others from the Sacramento Val¬
ley. They acted as scouts and were under the com¬
mand of Richard Jacob of Louisville, Kentucky,
who afterward became a brother-in-law of Fre¬
mont. During the march a part of these scouts
camped without fires, some two miles ahead of the
battalion and the others about the same distance in
the rear, so there could be no surprise attack. At
the same time no one could pass without their
knowledge. Each day twelve beeves were killed and
every man roasted his ration at the camp fire. The
beef cattle were driven along and the cold weather
and exercise gave the men enormous appetites .They
were a healthy lot despite their many hardships.

(259)

26o

A MAN UNAFRAID

The personal appearance of Fremont at this time
is described as follows;

"Fie was rather spare built, weighing about one
hundred and fifty pounds; height about 5 feet 9.
Complexion fair with keen, blue eyes and a Ro-
manish nose, with brown hair parted in the middle.
Fiis carriage was erect and not without dignity.”

In the beginning the route lay up the San Benito
River and over the hills into the Salinas Valley. As
a whole the battalion was most obedient and respect¬
ful at all times, the reports of their misdeeds to the
contrary notwithstanding. As an instance of the
strict discipline exercised a member of the battalion
gives the following:

"The next day before we marched the priest
made complaint that the church had been robbed
and a little golden image of Christ had been stolen.
The whole force was ordered to form in single rank;
that the officers should search every man and that
the person upon whom the image might be found
should be shot. But the stolen property could not
be found. Then it was ordered that whoever had
stolen it should not be shot, but should be drummed
out of the force in disgrace. Finally it was discov¬
ered that a man named Smith was the culprit. Fiis
manner had made him suspected from the first and
under pressure he confessed and went with some of
the officers and dug the image out of the ground
where he had buried it. He was accordingly
drummed out of the company. The image was
duly restored to the priest, who received it most
thankfully and with great rejoicing by his flock at
the mission.”

THE ABSURD VERDICT

261

A pass was required by every man who left camp
and no justifiable cause for complaint could be
made against the battalion by any Californian. In
a march of this kind the amount of baggage was
reduced to a minimum. The men slept at night in
their wet blankets and there was little complaining
among them. Doubtless they were so fatigued
when the time came for rest that they lay down
and slept soundly regardless of the rain. At the
same time there were many humorous instances to
add to the cheer of the men. Says a writer who
was with the party:

* 'About midnight the whole camp was aroused
by the report of a sentry’s rifle. In a moment the
whole force was up and in order for attack or de¬
fense. On examination the alarm proved to be
without cause. The sentinel who fired was rather
green, but a very good fellow. He stated that he
was sure a man rode up near him in the dark, he
had hailed this man three times without getting
an answer, upon which he fired and thought he had
killed the intruder. On examining into the cause for
all this alarm it was found he had killed a mule.
His only punishment was to be laughed at.”

On December 14th a temporary camp was made
on the mountain overlooking San Luis Obispo. In
company with William Knight the Colonel went to
a point where he could get a good view of the Mis¬
sion below, but was unable to tell whether or not
there was any of the enemy stationed there. It was
a rainy night with a chill wind from the southeast.
After nightfall the horses were saddled and the bat¬
talion descended from the mountain and sur-

262

A MAN UNAFRAID

rounded the Mission, capturing the few people
found there. Some tried to escape but were caught.
That night the men were housed within the mission
walls, a guard being placed over the altar to see
that no property was disturbed. At San Luis Obispo
some articles of food were purchased and distrib¬
uted among the men.

Upon receiving information that some of the
insurgents were close, Fremont sent out a number
of scouting parties in the vicinity and captured in
all about thirty men, among them an officer who
had been wounded in the fight with Captain Bur¬
roughs. An important capture at this time was that
of Don Jesus Pico. Fie was one of those who had
given Commodore Stockton his written parole, and
who was now leading the insurrection in that re¬
gion. Twenty-five men went to Pico’s house,
twenty miles distant, and searched it. Fiis wife de¬
clared he was not there and did not know where he
was. The searching party had almost given up
when a trap door was found under a bed. On open¬
ing this it was discovered that the trap door led to
a cellar and here Pico had secreted himself in a dark
corner. Fie was placed under arrest and escorted
to San Luis Obispo where a court-martial was held.
It was decreed that Don Jesus should die for failing
to keep his promise. Then came one of the most
dramatic episodes in all of Fremont’s dramatic
career. The hour for the execution had arrived.
The firing squad was in the plaza in front of the
windows of the room in which the Colonel sat. The
air was rife with suppressed excitement. Men spoke
in subdued tones. A fellow man was about to die.

THE ABSURD VERDICT

263

a human life was to be snuffed out at the crack of
the unhesitating guns. Many of the men were glad
that Pico was to face the line of loaded rifles, for was
he not in some way the cause of their privations and
hardships ? There were a few who took keen delight
at his misfortune. Don Jesus was about to be led
out into the plaza where death awaited him. Sud¬
denly the door to Colonel Fremont’s room was
opened and Captain Owens entered. He said that
a lady begged an interview with the Colonel and
asked if he would grant it. On receiving an affirma¬
tive answer Owens went out and in a few moments
ushered in a little woman in black, followed by
several small children. Her face was pale; her eyes
were red from weeping. The children, too, were
crying pitifully, though not in the full realization
of what their mother’s mission meant — the life of
their father. The little woman was the wife of Don
Jesus. She had come to Fremont to plead for her
husband. She threw herself at his feet and implored
him for mercy. She begged and entreated for the
sake of her children, asking him to have compas¬
sion, saying that her husband did not know that he
was committing a crime, but was ashamed to stay
at home when the others went to fight. It was a
trying situation for Fremont. He hesitated, then
raised the woman from the floor and in a calm
voice told her to go home and be quiet, and he
would let her know. Sobbing heartbrokenly she
passed out of the room and the Colonel sent for
Don Jesus. He was brought in — a handsome man
less than forty with black hair and eyes. His face
was ashen gray, but he bore himself with calm dig-

264

A MAN UNAFRAID

nity. There was a moment of tense silence, then
Fremont pointed through the window to the men
lined up in the square. The doomed man felt that
his hour had come and that the Colonel had some¬
thing to say to him before he was led out to be shot.

“You were about to die,’* said Fremont, “but
your wife has saved you. Go thank her.”

Instantly he fell upon his knees and made the
sign of the Cross. Fie was completely overcome
with emotion. It was some minutes before he could
utter a word. Then he said: “I was to die — I had
lost the life God gave me. You have given me
another life. I devote the new life to you for¬
ever.” And this pledge he kept ever after, always
being one of Fremont’s most devoted followers.
The happiness of the little wife who pleaded for
him was inexpress able. Don Jesus accompanied the
Colonel on the rest of his march and was with him
during his stay in California, ever a firm and helpful
friend. He was a cousin of Don Andres Pico, who
was in command of the Californians at San Pascual.
His wife was of the Carrillo family.

Fremont was subjected to considerable criticism
for this act of clemency, but he knew the nature
of the Californians and that they would be more
subdued by this than by the bloodshed of any bat¬
tle. In fact, Fremont seemed destined for criticism.
No matter what he did or what he did not do there
were always those to find fault with him. As one
writer has well said, “Probably no man whose serv¬
ices have been so conspicuous and so valuable to the
United States, was ever so contemptuously treated
by the government and by numerous unfriendly

THE ABSURD VERDICT

265

critics, most of whom would not have given up a
single hour of their comfortable firesides to follow
his arduous tracks.”

On Christmas Eve the battalion encamped on
Santa Ynez ridge near Santa Barbara. The next
morning was ushered in by a terrific wind from the
southeast and a cold, driving rain that swept the
face of the steep mountainside down which they
made their descent to the plain. Bryant gives a
very vivid account of the march on Christmas Day:

“The rain fell in torrents and the wind blew
with almost the force of a tornado. . . . Driving
our horses before us we were compelled to slide
down the steep and slippery rocks, or wade through
deep gullies and ravines filled with mud and foam¬
ing torrents of water, that rushed downward with
such force as to carry along the loose rocks and
tear up the trees and loose shrubbery by the roots.
Many of the horses falling into the ravines refused
to make an effort to extricate themselves, and were
swept downward and drowned. Others, bewildered
by the fierceness and terrors of the storm, rushed or
fell headlong over the steep precipices and were
killed. Others obstinately refused to proceed, but
stood quaking with fear or shivering with cold,
and many of them perished in the night from the
severity of the storm. . . . And a night of more
impenetrable and terrific darkness I never wit¬
nessed.”

In making the perilous descent over a hundred
horses were lost and the men suffered terribly. It
was an experience long to be remembered by those
of the battalion. In getting down from the moun-

266

A MAN UNAFRAID

tain there were some humorous incidents, one of
which is related by a member of the command.

"Among the rest who came down by their own
gravity was Major Russel, who was a portly, heavy
man and who was always very neat about his
dress. We boys watched to see how with his nice
uniform he would make the downward passage. He
was coming down slowly and dignifiedly when all
of a sudden there was a slip and a stagger and his
feet flew out from under him and down he came
with railroad speed and was unable to put on the
brakes and stop till he landed fifty feet from camp,
puffing and blowing and covered with mud.’*

That night, tired, wet, and bedraggled, the
battalion went into camp in the woods at the
foot of the mountain. The artillery and baggage
were scattered along in a way that suggested the
retreat of a broken army. The following morning
was fair with a bright sun, the storm having spent
its fury. Sunshine always has a reviving and cheer¬
ing influence and before long they were on their
way and entered the town of Santa Barbara unop¬
posed.

The few of Fremont’s men who escaped from the
town some weeks before and who had joined him at
Monterey were wildly welcomed by their former
friends and acquaintances. The townspeople had
given the men up as lost, the bones of the old white
horse being considered mute evidence of a tragic
fate when the fire had done its work. While in camp
in Santa Barbara two hundred fresh horses were
brought in, among them a black stallion with a long
mane and tail. The Colonel fell in love with him

THE ABSURD VERDICT

267

and ordered his vaquero to break him to saddle. The
vaquero was an excellent rider in whom Fremont
had great confidence. The animal was lassoed, the
rider finally gaining the saddle when the horse be¬
gan to buck and continued to buck all around the
camp. At last he ran under a tree near Fremont’s
tent where the vaquero was thrown against a limb
of a tree and instantly killed. His death was deeply
deplored, and the Colonel ordered the horse to be
turned loose.

He remained in Santa Barbara in order to repair
the damage done by the storm. The gun crews were
anxious to have sights on their guns and the Colonel
granted the request. Meantime the men enjoyed a
much needed rest. While he was delayed here he
was informed by Don Jesus that a lady wished to
talk with him. He was told that the lady in ques¬
tion was of middle age, highly respected, and of
great influence among the Californians. Thus he
was made acquainted with Senora Bernarda Ruiz.
In this interview she said that her object in seeing
Fremont was to use her influence for peace, that
she believed that the contending forces could be
brought together on just and friendly terms, and
that a compromise could be reached whereby there
would be an agreeable settlement of the difficulty.
She urged him to take no action until she had con¬
sulted with her friends. Fremont was very much
impressed by her sincerity and her sound reason¬
ing. He assured her that he would bear her wishes
in mind. And thus began the capitulation of Ca-
huenga.

On the 17th day of January, after a period of

268

A MAN UNAFRAID

rest and recuperation, the Colonel resumed his
march toward Los Angeles. Below Santa Barbara
a band of Californian cavalry was sighted number¬
ing about fifty men, but no trouble resulted as the
Colonel’s policy was one of conciliation. Some fif¬
teen miles south of Santa Barbara is a maritime de¬
file several miles in length, where a mountain ridge
skirts the ocean, leaving a narrow strip of beach.
A gunboat under command of Lieutenant Selden
stood out to sea as the battalion passed along this
defile to protect the men from any attack that
might be made from the heights above. Nothing
occurred, however, and on the 9 th Fremont camped
at "The Willows” some distance south of the Rin¬
con. Here the Colonel was met by Captain Ham-
lyn of the Sfonington, who was accompanied by
Don Pedro Carrillo. The Captain brought a note
from Stockton warning Fremont not to fight the
insurgents unless he was very sure of his ground,
and then to keep his men in close formation, add¬
ing that in the art of horsemanship, of dodging and
running the Americans could not compete with the
Californians. Evidently the Commodore had
learned a few things that Fremont, with his wider
experience, had known all the time.

On entering San Bernardo Pass on the morning
of the 1 2th, the Colonel expected to find the Cali¬
fornians in full force, but they were nowhere to
be seen. Meantime two officers had ridden into
Fremont’s camp to inform him that Stockton had
retaken Los Angeles after an engagement with the
enemy. That afternoon the battalion went into
camp at the mission of San Fernando, where Don

THE ABSURD VERDICT

269

Andres Pico, commander of the insurgents, made
his home. His camp was only two miles distant,
and in the evening Don Jesus carried a note from
Fremont to Pico. The next day, accompanied only
by Don Jesus, the Colonel rode into the camp of
the Californians, where a treaty of capitulation
was discussed between the rival officers. A truce
was ordered, a commission appointed, and the same
day the treaty of capitulation became a reality. This
marked the end of the war in California, leaving
the United States in complete possession of the ter¬
ritory. The final treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was
consummated in 1848.

In writing to the Secretary of the Navy in re¬
gard to the capitulation Commodore Stockton said
that while he had refused to do it he would at least
approve of what Colonel Fremont had done. Jose
Flores made his escape, as Stockton said that if he
were caught he would be shot. In his memorable
march of over four hundred miles Fremont had
met with no opposition, and by his act of pardon¬
ing Don Jesus Pico had won a warm spot in the
hearts of the Californians. At times a show of
mercy is worth a hundred cannon. The Colonel
arrived in Los Angeles on the 14th of January.
Meanwhile the brass howitzer lost at San Pascual
by Kearny when the mules ran away with it was
returned to the Americans.

In Los Angeles Fremont assumed the reins of
government and Stockton began to prepare for his
voyage to the coast of Mexico. The battalion was
sent to the mission of San Gabriel, while the Colo¬
nel took up his residence in a house formerly occu-

270

A MAN UNAFRAID

pied by the Mexican governors. He was without a
single guard or any show of military protection.
General Kearny had taken quarters at Monterey,
and a serious dispute arose between him and Stock-
ton as to who should have supreme command in
California. This controversy naturally involved
Fremont, resulting in a military trial at Washing¬
ton in which the official rights of a General in the
army and a Commodore of the navy were definitely
established. However, the termination of the trial,
a most unfair and, at times, absurd performance,
was unfortunate for Fremont, who was never
known to desert a friend and who should have been
completely exonerated on the ground that he was
placed between two officers of superior rank, each
with similar orders, the question of precedence not
having been officially determined. But to establish
such a precedent at the expense of Fremont was
manifestly unfair and altogether wrong. Perhaps
the controversy between Stockton and Kearny was
caused primarily by the distance between Washing¬
ton and California and the time required in deliver¬
ing messages. The instructions given to both of¬
ficers were practically the same, only events had
transpired in California of which the government
knew nothing and which altered the conditions
very materially. For instance, Kearny was ordered
to subdue the Californians and to establish a civil
government. Stockton had already accomplished
this with the aid of Fremont according to his or¬
ders. Says Commodore Stockton’s biographer:

"Fremont, throughout the California war, was
strictly and technically in the naval service, under

THE ABSURD VERDICT

271

Commodore Stockton. He had taken service under
him with an express agreement that he would con¬
tinue subject to his orders as long as he continued
to command in California. This engagement both
he and Captain Gillespie had entered into from pa¬
triotic motives and to render the most efficient serv¬
ice to the country. He visited California originally
on topographical and not military duty. His vol¬
unteering under Stockton on special service was
patriotic impulse, in complying with which the
government was in honor bound to sustain him.
He therefore very properly refused to violate his
agreement with Stockton and unite with Kearny
against him. Having failed to compel Fremont to
acknowledge his authority the General addressed
himself to the Commodore and demanded that he
should abdicate the command-in-chief.”

In a letter to Senator Benton the Colonel ex¬
plained the motives by which he was actuated to
take the course he did:

*'When I entered Los Angeles I was ignorant of
the relations existing between these gentlemen,
having received from neither any order nor infor¬
mation which might serve as a guide in the cir¬
cumstances. I therefore immediately on my arrival
waited on the governor and commander-in-chief.
Commodore Stockton, and a few minutes after¬
ward called upon General Kearny. I soon found
them occupying a hostile attitude and each deny¬
ing the right of the other to assume the direction
of affairs in this country. The ground assumed by
General Kearny was that he held in his hand plenary
instructions from the President directing him to

A MAN UNAFRAID

272

conquer California and organize a civil government
and that consequently he would not recognize the
acts of Commodore Stockton. The latter main¬
tained that his own instructions were to the same
effect as Kearny’s, that this officer’s commission was
obsolete and never would have been given could the
government have anticipated that the entire coun¬
try, seaboard and interior, would have been con¬
quered and held by himself. The country had been
conquered and a civil government instituted since
September last, a constitution of the territory and
appointments under the constitution had been sent
the government for its approval, and decisive ac¬
tion undoubtedly long since had been upon them.
General Kearny had been instructed to conquer the
country and upon its threshold his command had
almost been cut to pieces and but for the reUef of
Commodore Stockton would have been destroyed.
In regard to the remaining part of his instructions,
how could he organize a government without first
proceeding to disorganize the present one? His
work had been anticipated, his commission was ab¬
solutely void, null, and of no effect. But if General
Kearny believed that his instructions gave him para¬
mount authority, he made a fatal error on his
arrival. . . . On the day of my arrival in Los An¬
geles General Kearny told me that he did then, at
that moment, recognize Commodore Stockton as
Governor of the territory. You are aware that I
had contracted relations with Commodore Stock-
ton, and I thought it neither right nor politically
honorable to withdraw my support. No reason of
interest shall compel me to act toward any man in

THE ABSURD VERDICT

273

such a way that I should afterward be ashamed to
meet him.”

Such were the views of Colonel Fremont, in
which the ordinary individual would have no hesi¬
tancy in concurring under the circumstances, but
which were found to be erroneous by a military tri¬
bunal composed of West Pointers. To explain fur¬
ther the position taken by the Colonel we quote
a letter written by him to Kearny in answer to one
in which the General gave orders:

Los Angeles, January, 1847.

I have the honor to be in receipt of your letter of last
night in which I am directed to suspend the execution of
orders, which, in my capacity of military commandant
of this territory I had received from Commodore Stock-
ton, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in California.
I avail myself of an early hour this morning to make such
a reply as the brief time allowed for reflection will enable
me. I found Commodore Stockton in possession of the
country, exercising the functions of military comman¬
dant and civil governor as early as July last year, and
shortly after I received from him the commission of
mihtary commandant, the duties of which I immediately
entered upon and have continued to exercise to the pres¬
ent moment. I found, also, on my arrival at this place,
some three or four days since. Commodore Stockton still
exercising the functions of civil and military governor
with the same apparent deference to his rank on the part
of all officers (yourself included) as he maintained and
required when he assumed command in July last. I
learned, also, in conversation with you, that on the march
from San Diego recently to this place you entered upon
and discharged duties, implying an acknowledgment on
your part of supremacy to Commodore Stockton. I feel,
therefore, with great deference to your professional

274

A MAN UNAFRAID

and personal character, constrained to say that until you
and Commodore Stockton adjust between yourselves the
question of rank, where I respectfully think the difficulty
belongs, I shall have to report and receive orders as here¬
tofore from the Commodore.

With considerations of high regards I am, sir.

Your obedient servant,

J. C. Fremont.

Lieutenant -Colonel U. S. Army and Military
Commandant of the Territory of California.

Later on Commodore Stockton sent Kearny a
letter in which the General was told that he could
consider himself "suspended from the command of
the United States forces at this place.” In reply
Kearny informed the Commodore that he was act¬
ing under orders from the President and demanded
that he "cease further proceedings in the matter.”
It looked for a time as if a collision were inevitable
between the two. The correspondence waxed fast
and furious. Meantime Fremont remained loyal to
the Commodore, as would any honorable man and
officer. As to how the soldiers regarded the contro¬
versy between Kearny and Fremont may be gleaned
from the diary of George William Hayden, of the
Seventh New York Volunteers stationed at Mon¬
terey:

"Some differences have arisen between Kearny
and Fremont, who are still at variance on account
of civil jurisdiction and government of the coun¬
try, Fremont claiming a precedent of priority in
subjugating the people, while Kearny was sent by
the government to supersede him. This difficulty
must be settled at Washington. Fremont, who is

THE ABSURD VERDICT

^75

popular here, has, I think, more superior claims to
the government of the country than has Kearny.”
This is the way the matter appealed to the average
man.

Without saying a word to Fremont, or bidding
him good-by Kearny suddenly left Los Angeles for
Monterey. Early in March and after Stockton had
sailed for Mexico there were rumors of trouble at
Los Angeles on account of the approach of the Mor¬
mon Battalion and the issuing of proclamations in¬
compatible with the treaty of Cahuenga. At any
rate, Fremont thought it of sufficient importance
to report it to General Kearny. H. H. Bancroft,
with his usual prejudice against the Colonel, re¬
marks that ‘These alarms were invented later as an
excuse for disobeying Kearny’s orders,” as though
there were any sense or reason in such a supposi¬
tion. Moreover, it is not probable that to inform
Kearny the Colonel would have mounted a horse
and made a record-breaking ride from Los Angeles
to Monterey if his fears were not well grounded.
He says, *T made a most extraordinary ride to give
information to prevent an insurrection. The only
thing, it would seem, that I came for in that inter¬
view was to insult General Kearny and to offer my
resignation. . . . Certainly the public service, to
say nothing of myself as an officer, required a dif¬
ferent kind of reception from the one I received.”
It seems that there was much excitement in Los
Angeles and men went about armed to the teeth.
That the ride was “extraordinary” admits of no
doubt.

It was in the early morning when Fremont, ac-

2/6

A MAN UNAFRAID

companied by Don Jesus Pico and his colored serv¬
ant, Jacob Dodson, rode out of Los Angeles. Their
route led over a mountainous country with few
settlements and poor roads, not to mention various
defiles, particularly the one just south of Santa
Barbara, which can be passed only when the tide is
out and the sea is calm. At that time the only towns
between Monterey and Los Angeles were Santa
Barbara and San Luis Obispo. Otherwise the coun¬
try was a comparative wilderness. Each one of the
party had three horses — ^nine in all — and the riders
alternated their mounts, riding first one and then
another. The six loose horses ran ahead without
bridle or halter, free as the wind, only they had to
be kept going in the right direction, which re¬
quired some work. When one of them was wanted,
at a distance of twenty or thirty miles, it was lassoed
by either Don Jesus or Dodson, who had become as
expert with a lariat as a Mexican and equally profi¬
cient with a rifle. None of the horses were shod —
a custom among the Californians. The first day, at
a swinging gallop, they covered one hundred and
twenty-five miles, passing over the mountains at
San Fernando, traversing the defile south of Santa
Barbara and halting for the night at a ranch beyond
that town. Dodson’s arm was a little lame from
throwing the lasso, but otherwise the riders were
in excellent condition. The day following they
traveled one hundred and twenty-five miles, cross¬
ing the Santa Barbara mountain, where the bat¬
talion had lost so many horses the Christmas before.
At nine o’clock that night they arrived at San Luis
Obispo, the home of Don Jesus, where a great re-

THE ABSURD VERDICT

277

ception awaited Fremont on account of the pardon¬
ing of his faithful companion. Here he was de¬
tained until ten o’clock the next morning receiv¬
ing the visits of the townspeople and partaking of
an excellent breakfast especially prepared in his
honor. The nine horses from Los Angeles were left
here, while nine fresh ones took their place. A
Mexican boy was employed to look after the horses
that ran loose. Traveling at their usual gait they
made about seventy miles. At eight o’clock Don
Jesus, who had spent a jolly evening with family
and friends, became fatigued and suggested that
they camp for the night. They were then in the
Salinas Valley, where they found a good camping
place in a small grove. The Mexican boy was to
stand guard and some time between midnight and
morning there was a stampede among the horses,
together with cries from the boy. The cause of the
disturbance was not Indians, but bears. The Colonel
reached for his pistols, but Don Jesus told him to
lie still, that people could "scare bears,” and on yell¬
ing at them in Spanish they departed. However,
there was no sleep after this, the horses having be¬
come very much frightened. A rousing fire was
built and breakfast prepared from the supplies ob¬
tained at San Luis Obispo.

The journey was resumed at daybreak, and in the
afternoon, having covered some eighty miles, the
party rode into Monterey. The next day, following
his unsatisfactory interview with Kearny, the Col¬
onel set out on the return trip. Don Jesus wished to
try an experiment with two of the horses ridden
by Fremont. These horses were brothers, a year’s

A MAN UNAFRAID

278

difference in age, and the older of the two was taken
for the trial. Starting late in the afternoon thirty
miles were covered the first day and ninety the sec¬
ond, when the Colonel insisted on changing his
mount to the younger animal in order to make San
Luis Obispo, thirty miles distant. The older horse,
now free, took the lead and maintained it, entering
the town with nostrils distended and as full of life
as when fresh from the pasture. All the horses made
their one hundred and twenty-five miles that day.
In all they made the round trip of over eight hun¬
dred miles in eight days, including stops and two
days* detention — a whole day and night at Monte¬
rey and nearly two half days at San Luis Obispo.
It was a most remarkable ride when we take into
consideration the rough and comparatively road¬
less condition of the country, and one which went
to show the wonderful endurance of the California
horse.

It was not until the 1 3 th of February, 1 847, that
a dispatch for Commodore Stockton arrived from
the Secretary of the Navy, although the Commo¬
dore was not apprised of the nature of this message
until more than a month had elapsed and Colonel
Fremont had no knowledge of it whatsoever until
the time of his trial in Washington. The instruc¬
tions from the Secretary read as follows:

"The President has deemed it best for the public
interest to invest the military oflScer command¬
ing with the direction of operations on land and
with the administrative functions of government
over the people and territory occupied by us. You
will relinquish to Colonel Mason or to General

THE ABSURD VERDICT

279

Kearny, if the latter shall arrive before you do so,
the entire control over these matters and turn over
to him all papers necessary to the performance of
these duties.”

The instructions to General Kearny from the
Secretary stated that "the President is persuaded
that when his definite instructions were received
all questions of difficulty were settled and all feel¬
ings which had been elicited by the agitation of
them had subsided. Should Lieutenant Fremont,
who has the option to return or remain, adopt the
latter alternative, the President does not doubt that
you will employ him in a manner as will render
his services most available to the public interest,
having reference to his extensive acquaintance with
the residents of California and his knowledge of
their language, qualifications independent of
others, which it is supposed may be very useful
in the present and prospective state of affairs in
that country.”

The "definite instructions” to which reference
is made by the Secretary were never communicated
to Colonel Fremont. Of this correspondence he
remained in utter ignorance. He was never told
that it was optional with him whether he stayed in
California or not, a choice not permitted him by
General Kearny.

The General assumed command and sent Colonel
Mason to Los Angeles with authority over Fremont,
something that proved very irritating to the latter.
Mason apparently took extreme pleasure in annoy¬
ing the Colonel, evidently sharing the grudge
Kearny held against him. It is patent that Mason

28o

A MAN UNAFRAID

was not a very popular oflScer. In reference to him
we read in the diary of Mr. Hayden: “Colonel
Mason, acting Governor, has, it seems, contrived
already to make himself unpopular with both na¬
tives and soldiers.” An opinion of one of the rank
and file usually reflects the general impression. It
is quite certain that this officer was seldom in a
genial mood. Fremont found him very disagree¬
able. He would give orders calculated to humiliate
the Colonel, having a fine opportunity to do so.
Finally Fremont came to the conclusion that Mason
was seeking trouble. It was his habit to send for
the Colonel several times during the day to be
questioned in the presence of other officers who, it
is said, were to be used as witnesses against him. At
last forbearance ceased and Fremont asserted him¬
self. It was on the day that he was directed by
Mason to make a trip into the country for the
purpose of bringing in one hundred and twenty
horses that had been in pasture. The animals were
to be used in a contemplated march into Mexico.
Fremont little thought that even then his enemies
were collecting evidence against him. The order to
get the horses was worded in a way not at all to the
Colonel’s liking. In fact it was insulting under the
circumstances. The time allowed to execute the
order was altogether too limited. Mason sent twice
for Fremont the same afternoon to come to his
quarters. The Colonel took offense at the brusque
and overbearing attitude of the former and some
words passed between them, whereon Mason
snapped, “None of your insolence or I will put you
in irons!” Fremont’s suspicions were well founded

THE ABSURD VERDICT

281

by the fact that when the horses were brought in
they were sold to one of Mason’s friendly witnesses
for a dollar each.

The friends of the Colonel were of the opinion
that Mason was planning trouble, but advised him
to keep his head and avoid an open quarrel. This
he had tried to do until the insult above quoted
had been made when he rose in righteous wrath
and asked Mason if he held himself personally re¬
sponsible for what he had said. Mason affirming
that he did, Fremont mounted his horse and went
immediately to his quarters and wrote two notes,
in one of which he asked a retraction of the insult¬
ing words and in the other a challenge should he
refuse. It must be remembered that this was a time
when dueling was considered the proper way to
settle affairs of honor between gentlemen and the
Colonel’s indignation at the repeated insults that
had been paid him knew no bounds. The two
notes were delivered to Mason by Fremont’s friend.
Major P. B. Reading. Mason refused to apologize
and was given his choice of weapons, choosing the
double-barreled shotgun with which he was said
to be an expert, but which the Colonel had never
used. However, his friends secured a gun of this
kind and at daybreak he was ready for the meeting.
Nothing was heard from Mason until about noon
when Captain Smith of the dragoons arrived with
a note apprising the Colonel that Mason’s presence
was required at Monterey and that he would hear
from him later. For the time the duel was deferred.
When Mason arrived at Monterey Kearny came
south to Los Angeles. He had a talk with Fremont

282

A MAN UNAFRAID

about the duel and forbade it, presenting him with
a written order to that effect, a similar order having
been given to Mason. A little later Fremont went
to Monterey, where he was waited upon by Captain
Tyler, an intimate friend of Mason, who told him
he did not call under the direction of anyone, but
that he had had a long talk with Mason, who dis¬
avowed any intention of insulting Fremont. The
Colonel paid no heed to Tyler’s talk, but went to
Mason’s quarters where he was asked to sit down,
but did not do so, remarking that he had called
simply to let Mason know that he was in Monterey.
Fremont then walked out of Mason’s quarters and
in a short time received a note from that officer
stating that as General Kearny had issued an order
forbidding the duel he thought it best to defer it
until some time in the future.

Mason received a letter from Commodore Biddle,
who took Stockton’s place, imploring him to forget
the duel, that collisions at that time would be
highly injurious to the public interest and would
injure his military reputation. Fremont addressed
a note to Mason in which he acquiesced in what the
latter had said, stating that he was ready for the
duel any time that it was convenient. And there
the matter rested. In forbidding the duel General
Kearny did not carry out the rules and articles of
war, which require ''every officer commanding an
army regiment, post or detachment, who is know¬
ing to a challenge being given or accepted by any
officer, non-commissioned officer, or soldier under
his command, or has reason to believe the same to be
the case, immediately to arrest and bring to trial

THE ABSURD VERDICT

283

such offenders ” Perhaps, Kearny thought a warn¬
ing to the participants would be sufficient. Never¬
theless he did not carry out the provisions o£ the
law, probably not wishing to cause Mason any
trouble. Had Mason not accepted the challenge
doubtless Kearny would have been only too glad
to arrest Fremont.

On June 14th the Colonel addressed a letter to
General Kearny saying that in private letters in
which he had confidence it was stated that the
President had been pleased to direct that he be per¬
mitted to join his regiment in Mexico, or return
directly to the United States. He preferred to take
the latter course and at his own expense. This re¬
quest the General refused to grant, but on the con¬
trary wrote Fremont from Sutter’s Fort informing
him that he, together with members of his topo¬
graphical party, were expected to join him no later
than the 1 6th to begin the march to Missouri. Such
an order was in direct opposition to the advices of
the war department, who had left it optional with
the Colonel as to what he should do. Now that
Kearny was in sole command he was determined to
pay Fremont back for his alleged disobedience in
taking orders from Commodore Stockton. Fremont
little suspected what was in the General’s mind
when he ordered him to return. Nor did he know
until he reached Fort Leavenworth the following
August, save that he was treated with "deliberate
disrespect,” to quote John Bigelow, throughout the
journey. An entry in Hayden’s diary describes the
crossing of the San Joaquin by the party:

"General Kearny transported all of his men and

284

A MAN UNAFRAID

baggage across the river by means of our boat of
hides. Colonel Fremont, who brought up in the
rear, was the last to cross, though had it been op¬
tional with him, he would have been the first over
from his superior knowledge in these matters.
However, he soon built himself a raft and eventu¬
ally got before us all after the passage was effected.
They travel in company and camp separately.”

The party crossed the Sierra Nevada by way of
Donner Pass, where Kearny directed the burial of
the remains of the Donner victims, who perished
here the winter before. On arriving at Fort Leav¬
enworth Kearny sent for Fremont and had Lieu¬
tenant Wharton read to him a copy of the first
paragraph of an order he had just issued:

"Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, of the regiment
of mounted riflemen, will turn over to the officers
of the different departments at this post the horses,
mules and other public property in the use of the
topographical party now in his charge, for which
receipts will be given. He will arrange the accounts
of these men (nineteen in number) so that they
can be paid at the earliest possible date. Lieutenant
Colonel Fremont, having performed the above
duty, will consider himself under arrest and will
then repair to Washington City and report himself
to the Adjutant General.”

And this after all his months of hardship, after
all his privation and self-sacrifice in the conquest
of California, in which he bore so manly and con¬
spicuous a part — after having suffered cold and
starvation and untold misery to return a prisoner
and in disgrace! As Bigelow has said:

THE ABSURD VERDICT

285

“His achievements and rapid promotion had
awakened the jealousy of certain sordid hearts and
narrow minds, and, like Columbus, instead of being
permitted to continue his researches in the vast re¬
gion which he had first brought within the reach
of science, he was required to come home and de¬
fend himself from the attacks of men who had just
enough sense to envy his successes without the abil¬
ity to achieve them.”

On Fremont’s way to Washington his route led
through St. Louis, where a brilliant reception
awaited him. This compensated in a measure for
the insults he received while traveling with Kearny
from California. Many of the leading citizens of
St. Louis called to pay him their respects. He was
invited to a public dinner given in his honor, but
under the circumstances was forced to decline the
invitation. Before his arrival in Washington the
papers teemed with the news of his arrest. There
was much comment, some of which reached the
ears of his mother, who lay dying at her home in
Aiken, South Carolina. She was not prepared for
news of this kind and the shock was more than she
could bear. On reaching Washington the Colonel
asked for a leave of absence and at once started for
Aiken, where he arrived too late. His mother had
passed on.

The townspeople of Charleston purchased an
exquisitely wrought sword and presented it to Fre¬
mont as a "memorial of their high appreciation of
the gallantry and science he has displayed in his
services in Oregon and California.” The ladies of
that city presented him with a gold-mounted belt.

286

A MAN UNAFRAID

Previous to leaving Washington for the South
he had requested of the Adjutant General as speedy
a trial as possible and there was little delay. A gen¬
eral court-martial was ordered to assemble on the
2nd of November at Fort Monroe, Virginia, but
was afterward changed to the arsenal at Washing¬
ton. Captain John F. Lee of the ordnance depart¬
ment was appointed judge advocate. Senator
Thomas Fi. Benton and William Carey Jones, the
Colonel’s brother-in-law, were selected to conduct
the defense. As the members of the court were
close friends of General Kearny the verdict was a
foregone conclusion. It was no doubt the most
memorable military trial, and at the same time the
most unfair ever held in the United States, lasting
from the beginning of November, 1 847, to the last
of January, 1848. In numerous instances through¬
out the trial the truth was horribly mutilated.
General Kearny swore that the several charges on
which Fremont was arraigned were not his, that
he had preferred a single charge only, and that
the charges against Fremont had been changed,
whereas the Secretary of War gave the assurance
that "all the charges were based upon facts alleged
and officially reported to the department by Gen¬
eral Kearny.”

Fremont prepared his own defense, which was
read to the court, and which should have been suffi¬
cient to prove to any body of unbiased inquisitors
that he did only what any loyal and honorable man
would have done when placed between two rival
commanders when the question of rank had not
been officially determined. The whole proceeding

t

THE ABSURD VERDICT

287

was marked by glaring inconsistencies and evasions
on the part of witnesses for the prosecution, but the
military gentlemen composing the tribunal were so
fraught with jealousy and so piqued at Fremont’s
deference to a naval commander that they de¬
manded his conviction.

In a letter addressed to the court-martial by
Commodore Stockton, he said:

"For each and every act of Lieutenant Colonel
Fremont performed under my authority and in
obedience to my orders, I cannot but feel that in
some form or other I am responsible, if the acts
were in themselves illegal, or in the execution of
them, criminal.”

Little wonder that Stockton felt as he did, and
a greater one that the court should have found
Fremont guilty as charged. Had he deserted the
Commodore and gone to Kearny, as the latter com¬
manded him to do, he would not only have for¬
feited his own self-respect, but would have lost the
confidence of the public which was with him from
the beginning. Says Mr. Dellenbaugh:

"Justice is well represented blind! Even with
one eye open at this court-marital never could she
have arrived at the decision to summarily dismiss
from the army of the United States, on a technical¬
ity created by a difference of opinion between two
of his superior officers, the young, brilliant, inde¬
fatigable, efficient and devoted Lieutenant Colonel
Fremont. Four of the officers of the court after¬
ward admitted that the 'oldest officer in the army
would have been puzzled how to act on the ques¬
tion, which Mr. Fremont had been called upon by

288

A MAN UNAFRAID

his superior officers to decide for them — the ques¬
tion of relative rank between a Commodore and a
General.’ If the American people have tears to shed
over this injustice they should let them fall belated
upon the grave at Piermont. A reprimand would
have been proper; Fremont had not refused to act,
but simply declined to acknowledge that a General
had authority over the Commodore to whom he
had pledged himself long before the General had
appeared on the scene; and it would seem that these
technical charges more concerned the superiors
than they did Fremont, the victim. . . . Was it a
deliberate attempt to break the success of Fremont
by the West Point element as so often charged by
Senator Benton? Regretfully, I admit, it looks
uncomfortably that way.”

The court softened its verdict of guilty by rec¬
ommending that clemency should be shown the
Colonel by the President on account of his profes¬
sional services. In his review of the findings of the
court President Polk decided that he found nothing
to substantiate the crime of mutiny, but approved
of the sentence otherwise. However, he remitted
the penalty of dismissal from the service, stating
that Lieutenant Colonel Fremont "will accordingly
be released from arrest, will resume his sword and
report for duty.”

Feeling that he had done absolutely nothing to
warrant the verdict of the court and that a great
injustice had been done him Colonel Fremont ten¬
dered his resignation to the Adjutant General. He
felt that with the envy and prejudice his success
had aroused against him in army circles it would be

THE ABSURD VERDICT

289

the height of folly for him to attempt to remain in
the service. In the thirty-fourth year of his life his
connection with the military profession was termi¬
nated. He had already made his name known to
science throughout the world. As a geographer he
had won imperishable fame. As an explorer he had
been of inestimable value to his country, to say
nothing of his triumph in winning California to the
Union. Aside from this he had achieved an im¬
mense popularity because of his many daring ex¬
ploits and unlimited courage — a popularity border¬
ing on hero worship, and which was increased to a
certain extent by the gross injustice of his military
trial. Despite all the honors heaped upon him he
maintained his innate modesty and was by no means
content to rest upon his laurels.

In June the Senate gave orders for a map he had
prepared of Oregon and California, of which
twenty thousand copies were to be printed. There
was also a geographical memoir of Northern Cali¬
fornia, illustrative of the map. Professor Torrey
of the Smithsonian Institution published a descrip¬
tion of the plants collected by Fremont under the
title, *'Plantae Fremontianae.” Later on glowing
tributes were paid him by Baron Humboldt on be¬
half of the King of Prussia and by the Royal Geo¬
graphical Society of London. As a minister of the
Prussian government Humboldt was charged to
present Fremont with the *'Great Golden Medal for
Progress in the Sciences.” From the Geographical
Society of London he received the Founder’s Medal
for his "preeminent services in promoting the cause
of geographical science.” Just what the United

290

A MAN UNAFRAID

States did for him is not recorded, but it furnished
a goodly supply of critics.

Previous to going to Los Angeles in 1847 Fre¬
mont had given Consul Larkin some three thousand
dollars with which to buy an old mission farm, but
Larkin bought the place for himself, investing the
Colonel’s money in a Mexican land grant known as
the Mariposas, which contained over forty thou¬
sand acres or seventy square miles. Save for the gold
produced on this land it was of little value and has
not increased much to the present day. This tract
lay about one hundred and twenty miles east of San
Francisco. The property was formerly owned by
Don Juan Alvarado, who deeded it to Colonel Fre¬
mont in February, 1 847. The grant was confirmed
in December, 1852, and the following September
this was filed in the office of the commissioners ap¬
pointed to ascertain and settle the private land
claims in California. Then there was a notice by
the Attorney General that an appeal from the Com¬
missioners’ decision to the District Court of the
United States would be prosecuted. In consequence
of this action the decision was reversed. The case
was then appealed to the Supreme Court and the
decision was upheld. Following the court-martial
in Washington the Senate Military Committee be¬
gan an investigation into the California claims for
service in the conquest of that territory. Fremont
was much interested in getting these claims settled
satisfactorily with the men, who had belonged to
the California Battalion and who had taken Stock¬
ton’s offer of ten dollars a month as a joke. The
claims were adjusted in a way that gave to the men

THE ABSURD VERDICT

291

adequate compensation. During the arguments
before the committee the Colonel received many
highly complimentary tributes.

It had always been Fremont’s dream to have a
home for himself and family in the Golden State,
and it was to this end that his activities were di¬
rected. He was free to do as his fancy dictated. He
was not bound by any restrictions such as a military
position imposed. His great ambition was to find
the most suitable highway across the Rocky Moun¬
tains to the Pacific Coast — the one best for a com¬
mon road as well as for a railway. He was firm in
the belief that there was still an easier route to be
found than any he had yet traveled. With this ob¬
ject in view he began to prepare for his fourth
expedition. This journey was to be made mainly
at his own expense, though several citizens of St.
Louis were interested in the enterprise. A part of
his camp equipment was contributed by O. D. Fil-
ley, inventor of the Dutch oven, while Doctor
George Engleman, a gentleman of great personal
worth and scientific attainments, came to his aid
in other of his preparations. It was his intention
to make the line of his route along the headwaters
of the Rio Grande, having reason to believe that
this particular region had never been explored. He
had been informed by mountaineers that a fine pass
existed through the mountains at that point. The
route as decided upon would take him through the
country occupied by the Utes, Apaches, Navahos,
Comanches and other tribes, all of whom were on
the warpath. He was thus preparing for a journey
that involved more danger than any he had yet

2^2

A MAN UNAFRAID

undertaken, as the Indians were now thoroughly
aroused to the constant encroachment by the white
settlers on their hunting grounds, something the
various tribes were determined to resist with all
their power. They felt they were being gradually
crowded out as more and more the whites increased
in number.

In October, 1848, Fremont, accompanied by his
wife, reached the point of departure, the Delaware
Indian reservation, near the frontier of Missouri.
While her husband was traveling overland to Cali¬
fornia Mrs. Fremont was planning to make the trip
via Panama. For a time she would remain in Wash¬
ington with her father. In the eight years of their
married life the Colonel had been away five, so it
is little wonder that he longed for a home in Cali¬
fornia, where he could get acquainted with his
family.

The night Fremont bade good-by to the agency
and started on his adventuresome journey the cries
of a mother wolf disturbed Mrs. Fremont so that
she could not sleep. Finally when slumber came it
was broken by the arrival of the Colonel, who had
ridden back ten miles to spend an hour with his
wife. The colored servant made the couple a cup of
tea and Mrs. Fremont says, *'with our early cup of
tea for a stirrup cup, he gave his bridle rein a shake
and we went our ways — one into the midwinter
snows of untracked mountains and the other to the
long sea voyage through the tropics.” However,
for her it meant a camping trip across the Isthmus
of Panama as no railroad existed at that time.

From the Indian Agency to Bent’s Fort the

THE ABSURD VERDICT

293

Colonel followed the line of the southern Kansas,
believing in this valley he could most easily ap¬
proach the mountains. Among Easterners the
crossing of the Rocky Mountains by rail was then
regarded as almost impossible. It was Fremont’s
business to discover the most practical route. That
he should choose the winter time for the trip was
for the reason that "all obstacles which could exist
to the construction of the road might be known
and fully determined.” Nevertheless it seemed poor
judgment to undergo the rigors of a severe winter
for the purpose of finding out how deep the snow
was, or what the thermometer registered. But such
was the Colonel’s idea. He had planned to go west
to the head of the Rio Grande and somewhere be¬
tween Walker’s Pass and Mono Lake to find an easy
way over the Sierra Nevada. The greater part of
this region was unexplored. The Colorado River
ran through it and no one seemed to know anything
about this section of the country. It is very rugged
and is said to be one of the most difficult to traverse
within the borders of the United States. It was to¬
ward this inhospitable region that Fremont now set
his face.

He arrived at Bent’s Fort in November and went
south to the "Big Timbers” for a visit with the
Indian Agent, Fitzpatrick, whose name was so
closely identified with his own. It was here that he
learned from both the whites and the Indians that
the season was well advanced in the mountains, the
snow having already covered the ranges, while the
weather was disagreeably cold. With these reports
and the advice of his friends he should have hesi-

294

A MAN UNAFRAID

tated before going ahead, but this was not charac¬
teristic of Fremont. He would proceed when he
once got started no matter what the consequences.
Accordingly he marched boldly toward the great
white barriers of the West, while the snow de¬
scended upon him, robing the earth in a mantle of
white. There was a difference in crossing the Sierra
Nevada in winter, as beyond them lay a land of
glorious sunshine, of fruits and flowers, but beyond
the Rockies was an uninviting region, bleak and
treeless for hundreds of miles. Yet Fremont was
optimistic as usual and was on his way at the break
of dawn.

CHAPTER XI

The Fourth Expedition and Its Disastrous
T ermination

Arrived at Pueblo he found the snow quite deep
in consequence of which his progress was slow. In
the place of Carson and Fitzpatrick the Colonel had
Godey, an excellent man. There were also Taplin,
King, and once again Preuss, topographer, who
yearned for another taste of adventurous life, after
having experienced some of the thrills and excite¬
ment during the memorable journey across the
Sierras. There were in all thirty-one men including
the guide. Bill Williams, who was supposed to know
the Rocky Mountains better than any man living.
He was a first-rate shot and had formerly been a
Methodist preacher in Missouri. He spoke with
fluency a number of Indian tongues and, although
of middle age, he was singularly well preserved.
Owing to the winter season, Williams, who was en¬
gaged at Pueblo, had some misgivings about at¬
tempting the trip, but decided they could make it,
not promising a pleasant time.

On leaving Pueblo the party followed up a creek
for some distance, after which they crossed the Wet
Mountain range and descended into the Wet Moun¬
tain Valley. The men walked and the animals car¬
ried about one hundred and thirty bushels of shelled
corn. The first day they traveled eight miles. Sev¬
eral of the men climbed to a high point near camp
to take a farewell look at the great plains stretching

(^95)

296

A MAN UNAFRAID

eastward, covered with their robe of new fallen
snow. It was intensely cold, the thermometer regis¬
tering zero throughout the day.

According to Mica j ah McGehee, one of the party
who kept a diary, they traveled through the White
Mountain Valley and Wet Mountain Valley, which
lie between the Wet Mountain and Sangre de Cristo
ranges. Through the latter range there were three
passes, and Williams chose the middle one, known
as Roubideau’s Pass, as the best to reach the Rio
Grande for which Fremont was headed. There were
Spanish trails through all these passes, the country
being known to the Spanish settlers who Hved fur¬
ther on down the Rio Grande. McGehee empha¬
sizes the intensity of the cold, stating that at times
the mercury in the thermometer so contracted in
the bulb as to render the instrument useless. The
men began to show fatigue. Some of them were
severely frost bitten, and the animals became worn
out and helpless, falling in the trail and unable to
rise. The breath of the men froze on their beards;
their hands were numb, and the covering of ice
over their faces made articulation difficult. Still
they pressed onward and upward, wallowing
through great drifts, the horses lunging and plung¬
ing in a mad effort to escape the snow banks that
surrounded them.

After crossing the Sangre de Cristo Range they
descended into the San Luis Valley, which they
crossed, keeping due west and arriving at the Rio
Grande on December i ith, 1848, not far from the
present town of Del Norte, Colorado. They found
the river frozen over, but were able to build fires

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

297

and keep warm owing to the heavy growth of cot¬
tonwoods and willows.

They were now confronted by the great San Juan
Range, rising to a height of fourteen thousand feet,
and as Fremont says, *'one of the highest, most
rugged and impracticable of all the Rocky Moun¬
tain ranges, inaccessible to trappers and hunters
even in the summer time.” Their stay on the Rio
Grande was short, and in a few days they were
making their way along the icy mountain ledges
and through the snows of wild and rugged can¬
yons. Winter was now at its height. In any direc¬
tion they might look they saw only the snowy, un¬
trodden ranges, the white solitude broken by the
sound of their voices and the horses floundering
through the powdery drifts. Occasionally a pack¬
laden mule would stumble and fall down the steep
mountainside and disappear as though the earth had
swallowed him. Each hour brought new hard¬
ships. The men suffered more and more ‘from the
biting cold. Now and then a blinding blizzard
struck them like an icy sword. They were almost
suffocated by the clouds of fine snow, driven by a
fierce gale, that filled the air and made breathing
very difficult. They resorted to the use of mauls
to beat down the snow, but it was a hopeless task.
The horses and mules lay down on the trail from
utter exhaustion and froze to death. Most of the
men were thoroughly disheartened as their way thus
far had been marked by disaster — lost baggage and
dead animals. After a terrific struggle they reached
at last an elevation of twelve thousand feet. Their
supply of corn was gone. There was no grass except

298

A MAN UNAFRAID

a scarce bit on the most exposed ridges, where the
wind had full sweep and the snow had been blown
away. It was utterly impossible to make a descent,
as the snow was too deep. Neither could they re¬
main on the heights with so little food to sustain
them and a wind that cut like a knife and brought
tears to the eyes. It was a terrible situation. Their
immediate surroundings were ice, snow, and rocks,
with no place to camp. To reach the line of timber
some three miles below was impossible. A blizzard
was raging and the animals had reached the limit of
their endurance. The freezing wind beat upon them
day and night with an indescribable intensity. The
mules — over a hundred in number — huddled to¬
gether from an instinct of self-preservation and
died, one by one, and as they fell the falling snow
laid its white folds over them.

The men now thought only of saving their own
lives. Something must be done. Each moment
added to their misery. They were in despair. They
tried desperately to go on, but after repeated at¬
tempts failed miserably. Bill Williams was nearly
frozen to death as he sat on his mule. Five days
dragged by and they had made no headway. The
animals that survived became ravenous from hun¬
ger. They ate the blankets that covered them; they
ate the pads from the pack saddles; they ate the
blankets that belonged to the men, and at length
they chewed off each other’s manes and tails. Hun¬
ger had driven them mad. In this desperate situa¬
tion Fremont decided to go back to the San Luis
Valley. The retreat was begun on the 22nd of
December. For a week they struggled to reach the

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

299

little creek over the crest of the ridge, this stream
leading to the main river. Now they began to eat
the carcasses of the dead mules and, having no hope
of saving any of the animals, killed and ate the ones
that had not succumbed to cold and starvation.

At this time the thermometer registered twenty
degrees below zero, and the suflFering of the fam¬
ished party beggars description. To many of the
men the world seemed unreal. They moved in a
terrible dream, with hunger gnawing at their vitals
and cold benumbing their senses. Fremont observes
that those of his party, with the exception of Godey,
King, and Taplin, members of his former expedi¬
tions, were quickly discouraged, but under the con¬
ditions who could blame them? A man faint from
hunger has little nerve left, and these adventurers
were not only faint from lack of food but were
actually starving and half frozen.

It was computed to be eight days’ travel to Taos,
the nearest settlement in New Mexico, and on
Christmas Day four men were selected to go to the
Rio Grande to get mules and provisions. They were
King, Croitzfeldt, Brackenridge, and the guide.
Bill Williams. The remaining men were to move
the baggage down the valley. Sixteen days were
allowed the four to go to Taos and return, but the
days wore away and the party sent out for relief
failed to appear. Meantime the baggage had been
moved and one of the men named Proue froze to
death on the trail, though Fremont was unable to
comprehend this unless the man was utterly dis¬
couraged and did not care to live and suffer longer.
In a letter addressed to his wife and written from

300

A MAN UNAFRAID

the home of his old friend, Kit Carson, at Taos, the
Colonel recounts some of the terrible hardships he
and his men endured:

"Like many a Christmas for years back mine was
spent on the summit of a wintry mountain, my
heart filled with gloomy and anxious thoughts,
with none of the merry faces and pleasant luxuries
that belong to that happy time. You may be sure
we contrasted much of this with the last at Wash¬
ington and speculated much on your doings and
made many warm wishes for your happiness. Could
you have looked into Agrippa’s glass for a few
moments only! You remember the volumes of
Blackstone I took from your father’s library when
we were overlooking it at our friend Brant’s? They
made my Christmas amusements. I read them to
pass the heavy time and forget what was around
me. Certainly you may suppose that my first law
lessons will be well remembered. Day after day
passed by and no news from our express party.
Snow continued to fall almost incessantly on the
mountain. The spirits of the camp grew lower.
Proue lay down in the trail and froze to death. In
a sunshiny day and having means with him to make
a fire he threw his blankets down on the trail and
lay there till he froze to death. After sixteen days
had elapsed since King’s departure I became so un¬
easy at the delay that I decided to wait no longer.
I was aware that our troops had been engaged in
hostilities with the Spanish Utahs and Apaches who
range the North River Valley and became fearful
that they (King’s party) had been cut off by In¬
dians; I could imagine no other accident. Leaving

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

301

the camp employed with the baggage in charge of
Vincent Haler I started down the river with a
small party consisting of Godey (with his young
nephew) ,Preuss,and Saunders. We carried our arms
and provisions for two or three days. In the camp
the messes had provisions for two or three meals,
more or less, and about five pounds of sugar to each
man. Failing to meet King my intention was to
make the Red River settlement about twenty-five
miles north of Taos and send back the speediest re¬
lief possible. My instructions to the camp were that
if they did not hear from me within a stated time
they were to follow down the Del Norte.

"On the second day after leaving camp we came
upon a fresh trail of Indians, two lodges with a con¬
siderable number of animals. This did not lessen
our uneasiness for our people. As their trail when
we met it turned and went down the river we fol¬
lowed it. On the fifth day we surprised an Indian
on the ice of the river. He proved to be a Utah, son
of the Grand River Chief we had formerly known
and behaved to us in a friendly manner. We en¬
camped near them at night. By the present of a
rifle, my two blankets, and other promised rewards
when I should get in, I prevailed upon this Indian
to go with us as a guide to the Red River settlements
and take with him four of his horses, principally to
carry our little baggage. These were wretchedly
poor and could get along only on a very slow walk.
On that day (the 6th) we left the lodges late and
traveled only some six or seven miles. After sunset
we discovered a little smoke in a grove of timber off
from the river and thinking perhaps it might be our

302

A MAN UNAFRAID

express party on its return we went to see. This
was the twenty-second day since they left us and
the sixth since we left camp. We found them —
Croitzfeldt, Brackenridge, and Williams, the most
miserable objects I have ever seen. I did not recog¬
nize Croitzfeldt’s features when Brackenridge
brought him up and mentioned his name. They
had been starving. King had starved to death a few
days before. His remains were some six or eight
miles above, near the river. By the aid of the horses
we carried these men with us to the Red River set¬
tlement, which we reached January 20th on the
tenth evening after leaving our camp in the moun¬
tains, having traveled through snow and on foot
for one hundred and sixty miles. I look upon the
anxiety which induced me to set out from camp as
an inspiration. Had I remained there waiting for
the party that had been sent in, every man of us
would have probably perished.

**The morning after reaching the Red River
town, Godey and myself rode on to the Rio Hondo
and Taos in search of animals and supplies, and on
the second evening after that on which we reached
the Red River, Godey had returned to that place
with about thirty animals, provisions, and four
Mexicans, with which he set out for camp on the
following morning. On the road he received eight
or ten others, which were turned over to him by the
order of Major Beale, the commanding officer of
the northern district of New Mexico. I expect that
Godey will reach this place with the party on
Wednesday evening the 3 ist. From Major Beale I
received the offer of every aid in his power and such

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

303

actual assistance as he was able to render. Some
horses, which he had just recovered from the Utahs,
were loaned to us, and he supplied me from the
commissary’s department with provisions, which I
could have had nowhere else. I find myself in the
midst of friends. With Carson is living Owens, and
Maxwell is at his father-in-law’s doing a very pros¬
perous business as a merchant and contractor for
the troops. . . . Mr. St. Vrain and Aubrey, who
have just arrived from Santa Fe, called to see me.
I had the pleasure to learn that Mr. St. Vrain sets
out from Santa Fe for St. Louis on the 1 5 th of Feb¬
ruary. So that by him I have an early and certain
opportunity of sending you my letters. Beale left
Santa Fe on his journey to California on the 9th of
this month. He probably carried on with him any
letters which might have been at Santa Fe for me.
I shall probably reach California with him or
shortly after him. Say to your father that these are
my plans for the future.

“At the beginning of February I shall set out for
California, taking the southern route by the Rio
Aba jo, the Paso Del Norte and the south side of the
Gila, entering California at the Agua Caliente,
thence to Los Angeles and immediately north. I
shall break up my party here and take with me only
a few men. The survey has been uninterrupted up
to this point, and I shall carry it on consecutively.
As soon as possible after reaching California I will
go on with the survey of the coast and coast coun¬
try. Your father knows that this is an object of
great desire with me, and I trust it is not too much
to hope that he may obtain the countenance and aid

304

A MAN UNAFRAID

of the President (whoever he may be) in carrying
it on effectually and rapidly to completion. For this
I hope earnestly. I shall then be enabled to draw
up a map and report on the whole country agree¬
ably to our previous anticipations. All my other
plans remain entirely unaltered. I shall take imme¬
diate steps to make ourselves a good home in Cali¬
fornia and to have a place ready for your reception,
which I anticipate for April. My hopes and wishes
are more strongly than ever turned that way. . . .
Mr. St. Vrain dined with us today. Owens goes to
Missouri in April to get married and thence by
water to California. Carson is very anxious to go
there with me now and afterward remove his fam¬
ily thither, but he cannot decide to break off from
Maxwell and family connections.”

In a letter dated Taos, February 6th, 1849,
mont tells of the tragic fate that befell the rest of
his party:

*'After a long delay, which had wearied me to
the point of resolving to set out again myself, tid¬
ings have at last reached me of my ill-fated party.
Mr. Haler came in last night, having the night
before reached Red River settlement with some
three or four others. Including Mr. King and Proue
we have lost eleven of our party. Occurrences after
I left them are briefly these, so far as they are within
Haler’s knowledge. I say briefly, my dear Jessie, be¬
cause now I am unwilling to force myself to dwell
upon the particulars. I wish for a time to shut out
these things from my mind, to leave this country
and all thoughts and all things connected with re¬
cent events, which have been so signally disastrous

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

305

as absolutely to astonish me with a persistence of
misfortune, which no precaution has been adequate
on my part to avert. You will remember that I left
camp with occupation sufficient to employ them
for three or four days, after which they were to
follow me down the river. Within that time I had
expected relief from King, if it was to come at all.

*'They remained where I left them seven days
and then started down the river. Manuel — you will
remember Manuel the Cosumne Indian — gave way
to a feeling of despair after they had traveled about
two miles, begged Haler to shoot him and then
turned and made his way back to camp, intending
to die there, as doubtless he soon did. They followed
our trail down the river — twenty- two men they
were in all. About ten miles below camp. Wise
gave out, threw away his gun and blankets, and a
few hundred yards further fell over in the snow and
died. Two Indian boys, countrymen of Manuel,
were behind. They rolled Wise up in his blanket
and buried him on the river bank. No more died
that day — none the next. Carver raved during
the night, his imagination wholly occupied with
images of many things, which he fancied himself
eating. In the morning he wandered off from the
party and probably soon died. They did not see him
again. Sorel on this day gave out and lay down
to die. They built him a fire and Morin, who was in
a dying condition and snow blind, remained. These
two did not probably last till the next morning.
That evening, I think, Hubbard killed a deer. They
traveled on, getting here and there a grouse, but
probably nothing else, the snow having frightened

A MAN UNAFRAID

306

off the game. Things were desperate and brought
Haler to the determination of breaking up the party
in order to prevent them from living upon each
other. He told them that he had done all he could
for them, that they had no other hope remaining
than the expected relief and their best plan was to
scatter and make their way in small parties down
the river, that for his part, if he was to be eaten, he
would at all events be found traveling when he did
die. They accordingly separated.

"With Mr. Haler continued five others and the
two Indian boys. Rohrer now became very despond¬
ent; Haler encouraged him by recalling to his mind
his family and urged him to hold out a little longer.
On this day he fell behind, but promised to over¬
take them by evening. Haler, Scott, Hubbard, and
Martin agreed that if any one of them should give
out, the others were not to wait for him to die, but
to build a fire for him and push on. At night Kern’s
mess encamped a few hundred yards from Haler’s
with the intention, according to Taplin, to remain
where they were until relief should come, and in
the meantime to live upon those who had died and
upon the weaker ones as they should die. With the
three Kerns were Cathcart, Andrews, McKie, Step-
perfeldt, and Taplin. Ferguson and Beadle had re¬
mained together behind. In the evening Rohrer
came up and remained with Kern’s mess. Mr. Haler
learned afterward from the men that Rohrer and
Andrews wandered off the next day and died. They
say they saw their bodies. In the morning Haler’s
party continued on. After a few hours Hubbard
gave out. They built him a fire, gathered him some

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

307

wood, and left him without, as Haler says, turning
their heads to look at him as they went off. About
two miles further Scott — you remember Scott,
who used to shoot birds for you at the frontier —
gave out. They did the same for him as for Hub¬
bard and continued on. In the afternoon the Indian
boys went ahead and before nightfall met Godey
with the relief. Haler heard and knew the guns,
which he fired for him at night, and starting early
in the morning soon met him. I hear that they all
cried together like children. Haler turned back
with Godey and went with him to where they had
left Scott. He was still alive and was saved. Hub¬
bard was dead, still warm. From Kern’s mess they
learned of the death of Andrews and Rohrer, and a
little above met Ferguson, who told them that
Beadle had died the night before. Godey continued
on with a few New Mexicans and pack mules to
bring down the baggage from camp. Haler, with
Martin and Bacon on foot and bringing Scott on
horseback, have first arrived at Red River settle¬
ment. Provisions and horses for them to ride were
left with theothers, who preferred to rest on the river
until Godey came back. At the latest they should
all have reached Red River settlement last night
and ought all to be here this evening. When Godey
arrives I shall know from him all the circumstances
sufficiently in detail to understand everything. But
it will not be necessary to tell you anything further.
It has been sufficient pain for you to read all that I
have written.

**As I told you I shall break up my party here. I
have engaged a Spaniard to furnish mules to take

3o8

A MAN UNAFRAID

my little party with our baggage as far down the
Del Norte as Albuquerque. Tomorrow a friend sets
out to purchase for me a few mules with which he
is to meet me at Albuquerque and thence I continue
my journey on my own animals. My road will take
me down the Del Norte about one hundred and
sixty miles below Albuquerque and then passes be¬
tween the river and the head of the Gila, to a little
Mexican town called, I think, Tusson (Tucson),
thence to the mouth of the Gila and across the Colo¬
rado, direct to Agua Caliente into California. I
intend to make the journey rapidly and about the
middle of March hope for the great pleasure of
hearing from home. I look for a large supply of
newspapers and documents, more, perhaps, because
these things have a home look about them than on
their own account. When I think of you all I feel
a warm glow at my heart, which renovates it like
good medicine, and I forget painful feelings in
strong hope for the future. We shall yet, dearest
wife, enjoy quiet and happiness together — these are
nearly one and the same to me now. I make fre¬
quently pleasant pictures of the happy home we are
to have and oftenest and pleasantest of all I see our
library with its bright fire in the rainy, stormy days
and the large window looking out upon the sea in
the bright weather. I have it all planned in my
own mind. It is getting late now. La Harpe says
there are two gods which are very dear to us, Hope
and Sleep. My homage shall be equally divided be¬
tween the two; both make the time pass lightly
until I see you. So I go now to pay a willing tribute
to one with my heart full of the other.”

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

309

As will be seen Fremont’s fourth expedition ter¬
minated disastrously. He laid the blame for this on
his guide, Bill Williams, who "proved never to have
in the least known, or entirely to have forgotten,
the whole region of country through which we
were to pass.” But regardless of his failure and mis¬
fortune his hope remained firm and the thoughts of
a home in California lent a roseate hue to his dreams
of the future. He continued on his way to the Coast,
but not by the route he had originally intended to
take. Instead he went further south into Mexico,
avoiding the snows of the Rockies altogether. This
was a wise decision. With his small party and unen¬
cumbered by unnecessary equipment and animals
he traveled rapidly. Friends came to his assistance,
and Francis Aubrey loaned him a thousand dollars,
which made his trip less irksome. He stopped two
days at Santa Fe, where he was entertained by
Colonel Washington, the military Governor, who
gave him material aid. He arrived at Socorro on the
Rio Grande in February, 1849, being accompanied
thus far by his good friend, Aubrey.

In February a public meeting was called in St.
Louis to discuss a "National Road to the Pacific,”
and a resolution of thanks was adopted to "Colonel
John C. Fremont for his intrepid perseverance and
valuable scientific explorations in the regions of the
Rocky and California mountains, by which we
have been furnished with the knowledge of the
passes and altitudes of these mountains and are now
able to judge of the entire practicability of con¬
structing a railroad over them from St. Louis to
San Francisco.” Of course Fremont knew nothing

A MAN UNAFRAID

3 lo

of this resolution as he was journeying toward Cali¬
fornia.

At Socorro he breakfasted with the commander
of the post, Colonel Buford, and departed for Tuc¬
son, which was then a Mexican military outpost. He
followed down the Rio Grande until he arrived at
a point where Hillsboro, New Mexico, now stands,
whence he turned south, crossing the Mimbres Range
to the Mimbres River. His course then lay in a west¬
erly direction toward Lordsburg, New Mexico. He
had a brush with the Indians the fourth day out.
One of his men who was behind was fired at, but
fortunately escaped injury. He saw two Indians
ahead of him and rode over to them, accompanied
by his interpreter. He told the Indians his name.
They said they had never heard of him. He ex¬
pressed great surprise and told them they ought to
be ashamed not to recognize their best friend. By
much persuasion he induced them to come to his
camp. At first they were afraid to do so, knowing
they had shot at one of his men, but he treated them
with such civility they departed in a very amiable
mood. Fremont thought them Apaches, the noto¬
rious tribe that so long waged war against both
Mexicans and Americans. With the defeat of their
leader, Geronimo, they were at last subdued.

The Colonel followed down the San Pedro River
Valley, passed the deserted mission of Tabac, and on
to Tucson in Arizona, at that time a town of about
eight hundred souls, but now a flourishing city and
a noted health resort. While on his way down the
Gila Fremont first learned of the discovery of
gold in California. Here he encountered a thou-

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

311

sand or more Sonora Mexicans on their way to the
Golden State. Of the opinion that gold would be
found on his Mariposa lands, the Colonel engaged a
number of the Sonorans to work for him, he to
"grub-stake” them and they to divide the results of
their labors. However, the Americans, including
the military Governor, so disliked these people that
their stay was short, but in their dealings with Fre¬
mont it may be said that they always acted in an
honest and honorable manner. He crossed the Colo¬
rado River near the mouth of the Gila River, and
continued via Agua Caliente (Warner’s) to Los
Angeles.

As it was now close to the first of April he ex¬
pected Mrs. Fremont’s arrival soon, but owing to
the rush to the mines the steamer that was to have
left San Francisco for Panama was detained because
of the absence of a crew and did not leave for sev¬
eral weeks, thus delaying hundreds of passengers. In
Panama scores of people impatiently awaited the
coming of the boat, and not being prepared for a
sojourn in that region, suffered great inconvenience.
Many of them lived in tents or managed to obtain
some other means of shelter from the heat of the
tropic sun. Mrs. Fremont was fortunate in having
the aid of railway officials, the route for the road
then being surveyed. By boat she went up the
Chagres River as far as Gorgona and overland by
mule train to Panama. Her escort considered her
very brave during the trip.

"As there were no complaints or tears or visible
breakdown,” writes Mrs. Fremont, "he gave me
high credit for courage, while the fact was the

312

A MAN UNAFRAID

whole thing was so like a nightmare that one took
it as a bad dream — in helpless silence.”

In Panama the congestion grew worse. From
some of New York’s contingent Mrs. Fremont
learned of the disaster that had overtaken the
fourth expedition. She also received a letter from
her distinguished husband written at Taos, in which
the crushing calamity was graphically pictured. As
everyone seemed certain that the Colonel would not
get through to meet her she was advised to return to
her home in Washington, but she paid no heed to
the advice. A member of the Boundary Commission,
Mr. Gray, brought her a paper one morning con¬
taining her father’s account of the expedition’s ter¬
rible experience. When he returned in the evening
to convey additional news she sat with the un¬
opened paper in her hand, a victim of congestion
of the brain. She was unable to understand a word.
A severe illness followed, during which she was
cared for by Madame Arce to whose home she was
taken. At last the steamer from San Francisco ar¬
rived and she was able to proceed on her way. She
received the best of care while on the boat, which,
owing to the illness of the Captain, nearly met with
misfortune. When the vessel arrived in San Diego
Mrs. Fremont expected some word from her hus¬
band as had been understood between them. She
was rejoiced to learn that he was in Los Angeles a
short time before and had gone overland to San
Francisco to meet the steamer when it should ar¬
rive. However, on reaching there she found that
he had not come. The U. S. S. Ohio was in port and
her commander. Captain Jones, who had previously

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

313

captured Monterey, only to be ordered to pull down
the flag, offered her accommodations aboard his
ship. She decided to accept the invitation of a
Mr. Howard to stay at a club which occupied the
residence of the former American Consul, Liedes-
dorf. The house was very charming with its well-
kept gardens and afforded a pleasant retreat during
the time of convalescence. While the servants were
all Chinese a white woman waited upon Mrs. Fre¬
mont, but her services soon ended, as she insisted on
having her mistress’s gowns copied for herself and
on being denied the privilege left the house in high
dudgeon.

At that time San Francisco was the outfitting
point for the mines, and things were in a rather
chaotic condition. The price of food was exorbi¬
tant. The servants were mostly Indians, the whites
being employed in washing out gold or in looking
for new diggings. When Fremont arrived the all-
absorbing question that perturbed both himself and
wife was where they should live, as houses were at a
premium in the San Francisco of ’49. To have vege¬
tables to eat one had to raise them himself, as did
the commander of the post. General Riley, who
gave Mrs. Fremont some samples from his own
garden. The wife of General Canby, who was aft¬
erward killed by the Modocs, had a mulatto cook
and gave to her friends an occasional loaf of excel¬
lent bread or a pan of biscuits.

Finding no suitable habitation the Fremonts
went to Monterey, where they set up housekeeping
in the wing of the big adobe occupied by the Gov¬
ernor. It was a very comfortable abiding place

314

A MAN UNAFRAID

with its thick walls and rose-bordered gardens. De¬
spite the lack of conveniences they enjoyed life to¬
gether very much. For a cook Fremont had with
him Saunders, a free colored man, but on account of
his desire to free his family by paying the sum of
seventeen hundred dollars he was permitted to go to
the mines, where he could earn the money. This
left the Fremonts without a servant, but they
wished Saunders to free his wife and children, as
neither of them believed in slavery. The Sonorans
who had been mining on Fremont’s Mariposa lands
now wished to go home on account of ill treatment.
Up to this time they had sent the Colonel several
sacks of gold, which were deposited in trunks in his
Monterey quarters. The future looked so promis-
ing.

"Everything seemed to be against us up to a cer¬
tain point,” says Mrs. Fremont, "then the tide
turned and it was indeed a flood of good fortune.
All our plans had been made before the discovery
of gold. We had expected to live the usual life of
people going to a new country and had sent around
all manner of useful things from a circular saw to a
traveling carriage.”

Theirs was to be a life on a cattle ranch. They
prepared for this until the gold discovery changed
their plans. Fremont’s possession of the Mariposa
tract provoked some unpleasant criticism, particu¬
larly after gold was discovered. Even at this late
day there are alleged historians who take occasion to
cast slurs at Fremont. For instance Josiah Royce
says:

"Flow curious an accident this, that the con-

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

315

queror of California should by chance have pur¬
chased, before the discovery of gold in the territory,
the only Mexican grant that covered any part of the
gold region. . . . The gold mine had fallen to the
hero and like all his other wonderful fortunes it
profited him nothing.”

Had Royce been in any way acquainted, even
remotely, with the career of John C. Fremont, he
should have known that the Mariposa tract was not
bought by the Colonel, but by Consul Larkin. Fur¬
thermore it was purchased in lieu of a mission farm
which he very much wanted. Fremont was about
the last man to learn of the discovery of gold and
was obliged to put all his farm implements in stor¬
age with the new turn of events. Nor was he the
conqueror of California.” He never pretended to
be the conqueror of anything. Nor did he pretend
to be a hero. This was farthest from his thoughts.
He was essentially an unassuming, upright, straight¬
forward gentleman. Such slurs as the above were
inspired by pure prejudice and a lack of knowledge
of the facts in the case without which no man
should attempt to write history. Concerning
Royce’s slur a well-known writer says:

*Tt is perfectly plain that if gold in large quanti¬
ties had not been discovered, Mariposa would have
been at least a quarter of a century in arriving at
any kind of a rich price, and the gold was discov¬
ered a year after the purchase. Fremont received
the grant and paid for it; the land was therefore
his, subject to confirmation by American law. Why
should any one condem him for this purely legiti¬
mate transaction? Even had he purchased it inten-

3i6

A MAN UNAFRAID

tionally and with the knowledge that it was rich
in gold, there would be no dishonor in the matter
as his assailants would have us believe. It was Fre¬
mont’s to do with as he liked. Where, then, is the
crime?

Slurs on the Colonel, such as that above quoted,
are made concerning the way California was taken
away from Mexico, that by a lamb-like attitude the
country could have been acquired without the fir¬
ing of a gun had it not been for Fremont and the
Bear Flag Party. The truth is the Californians
yielded only when they were forced to do so, and
it was Fremont who aided greatly in discouraging
them and in bringing about a peace with compara¬
tively little bloodshed. That a man of his courage
and character should be subjected to the gibes of
irresponsible historians is a matter of resentment to
those of us who revere his memory.

It was while attending to his affairs connected
with the Mariposa grant that Fremont received
from President Taylor the appointment of Com¬
missioner to run the boundary line between Mexico
and the United States in the place of one of Presi¬
dent Polk’s appointees, John B. Weller of Ohio. The
Colonel decided at once to accept the position, con¬
sidering the action of the President as a distinct dis¬
approval of the verdict of the court-martial of a
few months before. Furthermore he was identified
with the political party in opposition to President
Taylor. This fact made him less reluctant to refuse
the appointment than had he been an ardent sup¬
porter of the Chief Executive. He called upon
Weller in Monterey and was informed that the

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

317

affairs of the commission were in a bad way through
lack of money. However, he assisted Weller in
raising some money, but on mature reflection de¬
clined the appointment.

Up to this time the territory of California had
been ruled by a military government, but since the
discovery of gold the population had increased by
leaps and bounds and there was much opposition
to what was called a "military despotism.” It is
not characteristic of the American people to be
content with this form of government. Senator
Benton in a letter addressed "To the People of Cali¬
fornia” advised them to get together, as did the
Oregonians, and form a provisional government for
themselves until such time as Congress should take
action. The Benton idea met with popular favor
and mass meetings were held in San Jose and San
Francisco by advocates of this plan. However,
General Riley, who succeeded Mason as military
Governor, forestalled any action of the people by
issuing a proclamation for a convention to draft a
constitution. He called upon the inhabitants to
select judges, prefects, etc., promising that those
chosen should be appointed. There was much oppo¬
sition to this in San Francisco, where it was thought
the Governor had exceeded his authority and should
not interfere. During the summer Riley made a
tour of the mines, explaining the situation and
urging the election of delegates to the convention.
The time appointed for the meeting was August ist,
and the San Francisco opposition, though not rec¬
ognizing Riley, decided to have its election on the
same day for the sake of "expediency” and accord-

3i8

A MAN UNAFRAID

ingly the convention assembled in Monterey as the
Governor had planned. Among the delegates were
a number of men of prominence, including Larkin,
Sutter, Stearns, Semple, Gwin, and several Cali¬
fornians in sympathy with the objects of the con¬
vention. The question of the boundary lines of the
proposed new state provoked the most discussion.
The southern members stood for a wide area in the
hope, it is thought, of later dividing the state into
several smaller ones, in which slavery might be
established. California, as it stood, was to be a free
state. The convention, giving to the territory its
first constitution, closed with a grand ball in the
evening, which is described by Bayard Taylor in
the following graphic style:

"At eight o’clock — the fashionable ball hour in
Monterey — the guests began to assemble and in
an hour the hall was crowded. There were sixty
or seventy ladies present and an equal number of
gentlemen, in addition to members of the conven¬
tion. The dark-eyed daughters of Monterey, Los
Angeles, and Santa Barbara mingled in pleasing
contrast with the fairer blooms of the trans-Neva¬
dan belles. The variety of feature and complexion
was fully equaled by the variety of dress. In the
whirl of the waltz, a plain, nun-like robe would be
followed by one of pink satin and gauze; next, per¬
haps, a bodice of scarlet velvet with gold buttons
and then a rich figured brocade, such as one sees on
the stately dames of Titian. The dress of the gen¬
tlemen showed considerable variety, but was much
less picturesque. White kids could not be had in
Monterey for love or money and as much as fifty

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

319

dollars was paid by one gentleman for a pair of
patent leather boots. Scarcely a single dress that
was seen belonged entirely to the wearer, and, I
thought, if the clothes had the power to leap sev¬
erally back to their respective owners, some of the
persons present would have been in a state of utter
destitution.”

The signing of the constitution was duly cele¬
brated by a display of the national colors on Colton
Hall and by a salute of thirty-one guns. Flags were
flown from the ships in the harbor and even the
British vessels were gaily decorated. Captain Sut¬
ter was brimming over with enthusiasm and with
the tears streaming down his cheeks cried, ''Gen¬
tlemen, this is the happiest day of my life.” The
delegates on the conclusion of their work marched
in a body to the home of General Riley and tendered
their congratulations, giving him three rousing
cheers. The Governor then issued a proclamation
calling for a general election on November 13 th,
when the state ofiicials would be chosen, including
members of the legislature. There were a number
of candidates for governor, but Peter H. Burnett
was the man who received the largest number of
votes. The legislature assembled in San Jose, where
those elected took the oath of ofiice. On the after¬
noon of December 20th the legislature concerned
itself with the election of two United States Sena¬
tors. There were seven candidates and on the first
ballot John C. Fremont was chosen. On the third
ballot William M. Gwin won by the narrow margin
of two votes. In her volume, "A Year of Ameri¬
can Travel,” Mrs. Fremont, who for obvious rea-

320

A MAN UNAFRAID

sons remained in Monterey during the time the
Colonel was in San Jose, says:

"One evening of tremendous rain when we were
as usual around the fire, Mrs. McEvoy with her
table and lights, sewing at one side, myself by the
other, explaining pictures from the Illustrated
T imes to my little girl, while the baby rolled about
on the bearskin in front of the fire, suddenly Mr.
Fremont came in upon us, dripping wet, as well he
might be, for he had come through from San Jose,
seventy miles on horseback through the heavy rain.
. . . He came to tell me that he had been elected
Senator and that it was necessary we should go to
Washington on the steamer of the first of January,
1850.”

The Colonel rode back to San Jose the following
morning on the same horse that had brought him,
covering one hundred and forty miles in thirty-six
hours.

Fremont’s servant, Saunders, had made enough
in the mines to free his family and to buy a home.
He was a very happy individual when he again
joined the Fremonts on their way to Washington.

On the trip to Panama Mrs. Fremont was taken
ill, and unfortunately her husband was in a similar
condition, suffering from rheumatic fever in one
of his legs that had been subjected to severe cold in
the San Juan Mountains on his last expedition. Mrs.
Fremont was attended by a Navy surgeon. Doctor
Bowie, and they were both taken to the home of
Madame Arce at Panama. Here they remained
until the next steamer sailed for New York, which
was nearly a month afterward. It was a question

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

321

with travelers at this time whether to risk the toma¬
hawk of the Indian by going overland to Califor¬
nia, or take chances with Chagres fever by crossing
the Isthmus. Mrs. Fremont was carried across coun¬
try to the Chagres River, down which she was trans¬
ported by boat to the steamer. But the trials and
tribulations of the two were by no means ended. As
the month was March the reputation of this partic¬
ular season of the year was well sustained. The
wind blew and blew and the seas gathered in in¬
creasing force, sweeping the vessel from stem to
stern. Mrs. Fremont was forced to undergo the
unpleasant experience of being lashed to a sofa,
which itself performed some remarkable gyrations.
Her condition was not impaired by the voyage,
however, but according to her own statement "she
should have died by all the laws of medicine.”

Immediately on their arrival they went at once
to Washington, where Fremont and his colleague,
Gwin, prepared to present the new state to the
Union. President Taylor, by special message, sub¬
mitted the constitution of California to Congress.
The Senators and Representatives had prepared a
memorial in which the history of the territory was
reviewed, the military occupation, the discovery of
gold, the rapidly increasing population, etc. It was
explained that the need of a state government was
imperative, that those of the East could appreciate
the position of the people and the necessity for ac¬
tion by Congress in admitting California into the
sisterhood of states.

That the people of that region had the presump¬
tion to organize a government without the consent

322

A MAN UNAFRAID

of Congress was bitterly denounced by some South¬
ern representatives. There were numerous heated
debates over the question of slavery, though this
matter was temporarily adjusted by the "Compro¬
mise of 1 850.” It was some years afterward before
the slave issue was definitely settled. Thus Califor¬
nia was admitted to statehood on September 9 th,
1850.

Naturally the citizens of the new state anxiously
awaited the action of Congress. There was much
impatience and a great deal of speculation as to
what should be done in case California was refused
admittance. There was some talk of an independ¬
ent state in that event. It was hoped that each
steamer to arrive would have some definite news,
but vessel after vessel came in without any infor¬
mation to impart. At length the Oregon appeared,
decorated with bunting and bearing a flag on which
was inscribed, "California Is a State.’’ The steamer
entered the Golden Gate on the morning of Octo¬
ber 1 8 th and fired her cannon to give notice of her
arrival. Her lavish display of color was quickly
observed and the good news was signaled to the city
from Telegraph Hill. As the Oregon rounded
Clark’s Point her bell was rung continually and the
multitude on shore sent up a mighty cheer, which
continued until she had cast anchor. The whole
town congregated on the waterfront and a scene
of great animation was witnessed. Men, women,
and children were beside themselves with joy, and
San Francisco prepared to celebrate in a way that
has been characteristic of her ever since. A new star
had been added to the flag — a star particularly dear

THE FOURTH EXPEDITION

323

to the people whose enthusiasm was unbounded.
From every window the colors fluttered in the
breeze. Streamers of bunting covered every build¬
ing. The ships in the harbor were flying the flags
of all nations. In Portsmouth Square two large can¬
non proclaimed in thunderous tones the admission
of California into the Union. Extra editions of the
newspapers appeared, which sold from one to five
dollars a copy. With the coming of night the
heavens were lighted by the fire of countless rock¬
ets. Red fire illuminated the various streets, while
on the top of the hills, of which there are many, the
merry bonfires blazed and sparkled until daybreak.
Messengers on foot and on horseback hastened to
convey the good news to other parts of the state,
and in an incredibly short time nearly everyone
knew it.

However, San Francisco was not satisfied with
this celebration, but decided to hold another of a
more formal nature, which occurred on Octo¬
ber 29 th. A long procession composed of nearly
the entire population marched through the streets
to the accompaniment of martial music and popu¬
lar songs. The town was again decorated, the Chi¬
nese being conspicuous with their Oriental colors.
There was much noise and hilarity and the cannon
were fired at close intervals. There was an oration
in the plaza, the speaker being Judge Nathaniel
Bennett. An ode written for the occasion by Mrs.
Wills was sung by a large choir. On Telegraph Hill
and Rincon Point huge bonfires were burning,
while at night most of the houses were brightly
illuminated. In the evening a grand ball was held

324

A MAN UNAFRAID

with three hundred ladies and five hundred gen¬
tlemen in attendance. Dancing was kept up until
the stars waned and the dawn rode in on waves of
gold.

CHAPTER XII

Fremont Undertakes a Fifth Expedition

Despite some opposition from Jefferson Davis the
two California Senators, Fremont and Gwin, were
sworn in and took their respective places as mem¬
bers of the United States Senate. To determine
which of the two should take the short term they
drew lots and unfortunately the lesser one fell to
Fremont, but in the short space of time in which
he had to act he presented a number of bills bene¬
ficial to California.

As his time was limited he devoted himself in
the main to the matters he considered the most
pressing, designed to complete the political organi¬
zation of the state. In September he introduced a
bill regulating the working and discovery of gold
mines, a bill authorizing the President to appoint
Indian agents, to extend the judicial system of the
United States to California, a bill to grant the state
public lands for educational purposes, to provide
for a good road across the continent, a bill to relin¬
quish to the city of San Francisco certain public
grounds no longer needed for public purposes and
a bill to grant six townships for a university, and
several others of equal importance. He made few
lengthy speeches in behalf of any of these measures,
the longest being on the Indian Agent bill and the
one governing the mines, to which a substitute was
offered by a Michigan Senator, but Fremont’s car¬
ried unanimously.

(325)

326

A MAN UNAFRAID

According to Bigelow the Colonel displayed great
clearness and precision of statement in his few fo¬
rensic efforts and established a reputation for mod¬
esty, good sense, and integrity among his associates
in the Senate. One incident happened to mar the
otherwise peaceful concord of the body and one
that only increased the respect his brother Senators
felt for his manly qualities. On one occasion Sena¬
tor Foote of Mississippi, who was in a slightly intox¬
icated condition, said in the course of his remarks
on the Naval Appropriation bill that the Republic
would be dishonored if some of the legislation urged
upon the Senate from California were consum¬
mated. This speech fired Fremont and an alterca¬
tion ensued between the two in which Foote struck
at the Colonel but missed him. For a time it looked
as though serious trouble would result, but in a
letter to the Baltimore Sun Fremont disposed of
the matter in a way that placed Foote in a not alto¬
gether pleasant position.

About this time the Colonel was invited to at¬
tend the Mississippi and Pacific Railroad convention
due to assemble in Philadelphia for the purpose of
discussing a national wagon road across the Rockies
and the Sierra Nevada. The road was intended as
a means of stimulating interest in the much talked
of Pacific Railway. Fremont was not in a physical
condition to accept, but wrote a letter of some
length, explaining his views in detail. An extract
follows;

"Many lines of exploration through the wilder¬
ness country from our inhabited frontier to the
Pacific Ocean have conclusively satisfied me that

THE FIFTH EXPEDITION

327

the region, or belt of country lying between the
thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth parallels of latitude,
offer singular facilities and extraordinary compara¬
tive advantages for the construction of the pro¬
posed road. . . . Throughout that great extent of
country, stretching in each way about seventeen
degrees, all these apparently continuous ranges are
composed of lengthened blocks of mountains, sep¬
arate and detached, of greater or less length, accord¬
ing to the magnitude of the chain which they com¬
pose — each one possessing its separate, noted, and
prominent peak and lying parallel to each other,
though not usually so the general direction of the
range, but in many cases lying diagonally across it.
Springing suddenly up from the general level of
the country, sometimes rising into bare and rocky
summits of great heights, they leave openings
through the range but little above the general level,
by which they can be passed without climbing a
mountain. Generally these openings are wooded
valleys where the mountain springs from either side
collect together, forming often the main branches
of some mighty stream. Aggregated together in
this way, they go to form the great chain of the
Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada as well as the
secondary ranges, which occupy the intervening
space. With the gradual discovery of this system, I
became satisfied, not only of the entire practica¬
bility but of the easy construction of a railroad
across this rugged region. . . . The snows are less
formidable than would be supposed from the great
elevation of the central part of the route. They are
dry and therefore more readily passed through, are

328

A MAN UNAFRAID

thin in the valleys and remain only during a brief
winter. ... In conclusion I have to say that I be¬
lieve in the practicability of this work and that
every national consideration requires it to be done
and to be done at once and as a national work by the
United States.”

With the conclusion of the session Fremont went
immediately to California, taking the Panama
route. Again he was stricken with Chagres fever
and was unable to return to Washington on time.
In 1851 he became a candidate for reelection, sup¬
ported by the Free State Party. Gwin was a cham¬
pion of pro-slavery and this sentiment had grown
to astounding proportions, so much so, indeed, that
the Colonel, who was an ardent abolitionist, was
defeated. Fiowever, no successor was elected, the
matter being deferred until the next legislature
should convene. To the pro-slavery faction he rep¬
resented everything that was dangerous and vision¬
ary and they made a hard fight against him.

Fremont now interested himself in the Mariposa
tract, the boundaries of which had not been defi¬
nitely fixed. Nor had the title been confirmed by
the American government. In 1851 a law was
passed by Congress repudiating all titles and deny¬
ing confirmation only upon written proofs of own¬
ership. For some six years these matters remained
in a chaotic state as the archives of the former Mexi¬
can Government were in boxes in Benicia and were
not available to anyone. Land forgers flourished
under these conditions and there was no end of
rascality.

The Mexicans were a simple, childlike people

THE FIFTH EXPEDITION

329

and were as clay in the hands of the scheming, un¬
scrupulous American, who took every advantage
of their credulity. Some of the choicest tracts of
land in the state were covered by many of these
old Mexican grants with their uncertain bound¬
aries. The prospective land seeker settled anywhere
his fancy led him and he could be expelled only at
the point of a gun. Taxes were demanded regard¬
less of title and the lands and mining claims were
greatly confused and jumbled. Then, too, the In¬
dians became aroused over the encroachment of the
miners, who muddied the streams from which they
caught their fish, and in consequence threatened
trouble. The pastoral life of the missions with its
picturesqueness and charm was over. It was a
strenuous time of hurry and clamor and a fierce
rush for wealth. Morals counted for very little in
the California of that time. Gambling and drunk¬
enness, with daring robberies and foul murders,
were almost a daily occurrence in San Francisco.
All was excitement and the number of duels and
personal encounters was appalling.

Fremont soon found that new complications
threatened his Mariposa land. The question was
whether or not the gold went with the property.
This had not been determined. However, he sold
some leases on the Mariposa to Thomas D. Sargent,
who had examined the claims and who went to
London, where he sold them at a great profit. Ben¬
ton, who had power of attorney, suggested that
Sargent should take over all the land for a million
dollars. After making his first payment Sargent
returned to England where he made arrangements

330

A MAN UNAFRAID

for the sale of the property at a great advance over
what he had paid for it. Previous to this Fremont
had arranged with an agent, David Fioffman, for
sales of his claims in London and when Sargent
heard of the Fioffman deal he wrote to the Colonel
at once protesting against such a proceeding. Fre¬
mont then ordered the entire matter to be held in
abeyance as the question of title was in jeopardy.

With the recovery of his health the Colonel de¬
cided to fulfill some government contracts by dis¬
tributing a large number of beef cattle among
numerous Indian tribes who were in a starving
condition in the mountains where they had gone to
escape persecution. This action was expected to
pacify them for a time and Fremont went to the
southern part of the state, where he superintended
the movement of delivering something over a mil¬
lion pounds of beef on hoof, but with his usual ill
luck the United States Commissioners, who had
arranged the matter, could not get the money to
pay for this as Congress said it was not authorized.
It required the passage of a special bill before the
Colonel could get his money, which necessitated a
wait of three years. The amount paid with interest
came to two hundred and forty thousand dollars.

During his absence in California his Washington
home took fire and burned to the ground, but Mrs.
Fremont managed to save most of his papers, to¬
gether with many valuables. He then went East
and in March, 1852, arrived in New York, from
which city he and his family sailed on the Africa
for England. He found that his fame there was
as great as in America. In London he received many

THE FIFTH EXPEDITION

331

social attentions, among them being a presentation
at the Queen’s Drawing Room and an invitation
to attend the annual dinner given in honor of the
Duke of Wellington’s birthday. In writing of the
former affair Fremont’s daughter, Elizabeth, says:

"When mother finally entered the Royal Draw¬
ing Room, she beheld Queen Victoria with the
Prince Consort, Albert Edward, at her side, a pic¬
ture of devotion. There were more guests present at
that drawing room than usual and, perhaps, more
representatives of the nobility than are usually
gathered together on such an occasion. Among
the distinguished persons of the day was the Duke
of Wellington, a man well on in years, his silver
hair lighting up his face in a striking manner.
. . . A memorable figure of that presentation

was the great Duke of Wellington. He walked
back and forth behind the throne, a privilege
accorded only to Wellington, all others being for¬
bidden to either move or speak in the presence
of the Queen. By a strange coincidence, back of
the throne was a picture representing one of the
battles of the first Napoleon — the work of a master
hand and so lifelike that one could hear in fancy
the din of war. As Wellington walked back and
forth in front of this picture he seemed to be lost
in thought. Was he living over again the scenes of
that terrific conflict? The thought was insistent
and impressive. During the presentation my mother
was self-possessed, trying hard to remember every
historic personage and incident that, like a pano¬
rama, was floating before her, that she might write
the details to her dearly loved father at eventide.

332

A MAN UNAFRAID

for never was the day so busy nor the way so weary
that the setting sun did not see a letter penned to her
father, so that even though distance separated them
they were always one at nightfall. To my father
the presentation scene was like a wedding, for as
he naively put it in later years, the men were of no
importance at all. The ladies had the day and they
claimed it for their own. But on this day father was
the center of a group of Englishmen intent upon
hearing of America and that wonderful new coun¬
try and of the taking of California. He was not
looked upon as a stranger by these men as he has
been made a gold medalist of the Royal Geograph¬
ical Society in honor of his Western explorations.”

Only one unpleasant incident occurred to mar the
Colonel’s visit to England. One evening when he
was leaving the Clarendon Hotel in company with
his wife to attend a dinner he was arrested. He told
the officers that there must be a mistake, but they
paid no heed to any explanation and hurried him
off to prison. Mrs. Fremont immediately informed
their host of the delay and went herself to the resi¬
dence of the American Minister, who, unfortu¬
nately, was not at home, having gone to the same
dinner to which the Fremonts were invited. The
Colonel was forced to spend the night in prison
and the following day George Peabody furnished
the bail essential to his freedom. His arrest, it seems,
was for the non-payment of four drafts, amount¬
ing to $19,500 drawn by the Colonel in 1847 on
James Buchanan, Secretary of State, for supplies
bought for the California Battalion when Fremont
was military Governor. Buchanan was unable to

THE FIFTH EXPEDITION

333

meet the obligation, as Congress had failed to make
the necessary appropriation. The Englishmen, who
had invested money in the *'paper,” decided to take
summary action against the Colonel, hence the
trouble. Buchanan’s testimony, as given in Phila¬
delphia for the British Court, exonerated Fremont
from any wrongdoing and the matter was finally
adjusted to the satisfaction of all concerned.

While in Paris the Fremonts obtained the home
of Lady Dundonald situated on the Champs Ely-
sees, midway between the Arc de Triomphe and
Ronde Pointe. Before leaving London Mrs. Fre¬
mont received word that her young brother, Ran¬
dolph, had died. It will be remembered that he
accompanied the Colonel on his first expedition.
The news affected her very much. Her eyes became
infected from constant weeping and she was threat¬
ened with blindness.

While in Paris Mrs. Fremont drove the first pair
of English horses ever driven there, except those
owned by the Emperor. The Coloned bought them
as a birthday present for his wife and on leaving
there they were sent to a friend in Bucharest. From
the balcony of the house they occupied the family
watched the triumphant entry of the Prince Presi¬
dent, Napoleon III, as the Emperor of the French on
Napoleon’s day. The Emperor rode alone, no one
being within one hundred and twenty feet of him.
He refused a bodyguard, saying that 'hf I die at
the hands of an assassin I die alone.” The Emperor
was followed by a number of men who had served
under the great Napoleon. The Colonel had in¬
vited a number of friends to witness the entry and

334

A MAN UNAFRAID

the police required that the name of every invited
guest should be filed with them, so great was the
precaution taken. Fremont was very much sur¬
prised to note the appearance at the last moment of
the widow of Commodore Stewart, who had not
been invited and who had brought with her two
men known to be "reds” by the authorities. The
Colonel quietly notified the police and detectives
were sent to watch the unbidden guests without
their knowledge. Thus the afiair passed off without
any untoward incident occurring. Mrs. Stewart
also brought with her a young lad named Charles
Stuart Parnell, who afterward became the great
Irish leader.

In decorating the house for Fremont’s birthday
the family greatly disturbed the serenity of the ser¬
vants, who refused to remain even for "American
wages,” as it was against their principles to stay in
a house that celebrated the death of Louis XVI.
After it was satisfactorily explained to them that
the occasion was Fremont’s birthday and not an
honor to the departed king, peace was restored in
the household. The Colonel had a keen sense of
humor as will be seen by the following anecdote:

"There was a riding school in Paris that offered
diversion to my father, who always enjoyed a joke.
Anxious for excitement, father one day called on
the riding master and announced that he was ready
to begin to learn the art of riding horseback. The
Frenchman went through many simple strides with
his new pupil to the intense delight of my father
until one day the horse acted a bit too wild for a
novice to handle and my father was compelled to

THE FIFTH EXPEDITION

335

show that he had handled the reins before. The
Frenchman was astounded. *You have ridden be¬
fore!’ he cried, laughing at the joke upon himself.
And after that he and my father enjoyed many a
ride together, father the teacher, showing how the
horses were ridden when the pathway was cleared
over the plains.”

On their return to Washington the Fremonts
rented a house adjacent to that of Senator Benton.
Congress had recently ordered the lines of a survey
to be made "for Overland travel and the prospec¬
tive railway route.” As no name appeared in the
bill, Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War, appointed
Captain Gunnison to do the work, no doubt being
prejudiced against the Colonel because of his op¬
position to slavery. On account of his failure in
1849 Fremont was more than ever determined to
try it again and with his own funds and some fur¬
nished by Senator Benton, prepared for another
journey of exploration in the Western mountains.
He began his preparations in August, 1853, intend¬
ing to make his trip in the winter time that he
"might see all the worst — see the real difficulties
and determine whether they could be vanquished.”
He believed in the practicability of the road and
that his mistake in 1849 was the fault of his guide
and was determined to find out these things by
actual test. The trip was really a continuation of
his fourth. The party was composed of twenty-
two members, ten Delaware chiefs being among
them, one of whom had been with Fremont before.
The topographer was Egloffstein, with Strobel and
Oliver Fuller, assistants. The artist and daguerreo-

336

A MAN UNAFRAID

typist was S. N. Carvalho, who wrote a book de¬
scribing the movements of the expedition up to the
Mormon town of Parowan. The writings of Car¬
valho offer the only source of information obtain¬
able regarding the trip as Fremont wrote nothing
save a short article, though doubtless he would have
told the whole story had there been a second volume
of "Memoirs.”

Carvalho, Fuller, Egloffstein and a photographer
named Bomar joined Fremont in St. Louis in Sep¬
tember, 1853, and journeyed together to Kansas
City on the steamer F. X. Aubrey. The baggage
was sent to Westport, a former outfitting point of
the Colonel in days gone by. A contest took place
between Carvalho and Bomar in regard to the best
process in making pictures. The former won, there¬
fore Bomar was shelved as a useless member of the
party. The men were well provided with firearms,
each carrying a rifle and pistol. The Delawares,
who were very fond of Fremont, were to join the
expedition a hundred miles to the west, after they
had gone to their homes to make the necessary prep¬
arations. To each mule was apportioned from sixty-
five to ninety pounds of baggage. No wagons were
used. Personal baggage was restricted in weight,
Fremont having had sufficient experience to avoid
loading the men down.

A start was made, the party stopping for the
night at the Methodist Mission. The next day they
traveled on to the Shawnee Mission, where Max
Strobel joined them. The Colonel being indisposed
decided to return to Westport to make some more
purchases. He was accompanied by Strobel and the

THE FIFTH EXPEDITION

337

understanding with the others was that they should
go on until they reached the Delawares, there to
await his arrival.

The caravan of men and mules moved westward
on September 24th and in a few days reached the
Delawares, who were described by Carvalho as a
"noble set of Indians, six feet high and armed cap-
a-pie under command of Captain Wolf.” They
had no more than joined the Delawares when Stro-
bel arrived with a note from Fremont, stating that
it was necessary for him to seek medical advice in
St. Louis. He ordered the men to proceed to the
Saline Fork of the Kansas River, where the buffalo
were numerous and where they should await him.
These instructions were followed out. It was dur¬
ing his temporary absence that he received his first
nomination for the Presidency. The men had been
discussing available candidates around the camp
fire. Carvalho spoke of the Colonel as being excel¬
lent Presidential timber, whereupon everyone pres¬
ent expressed similar views, so he was nominated by
acclamation.

Captain Gunnison, who had received the ap¬
pointment Fremont expected to get, had preceded
him into the region by several months, making an
examination for the prospective Central Pacific
Railroad. However, previous to the Colonel’s ac¬
tual departure, Gunnison and Kern — the latter
having been with Fremont on his expedition of
1848 — and Croitzfeldt, another of his old men,
were killed by Ute Indians near Sevier Lake, Utah,
on the 25 th of October.

Near the end of the same month the Fremont

338

A MAN UNAFRAID

camp was beginning to anticipate his return from
St. Louis, expecting his arrival from hour to hour.

"During the day of October 30th,” writes Mr.
Carvalho, "the sun was completely obscured by
low, dark clouds. The atmosphere was filled with
a most disagreeable and suffocating smoke, which
rolled over our heads. We were still encamped on
the Saline Fork of the Kansas River, impatiently
awaiting the arrival of Colonel Fremont, who had
not yet returned from St. Louis. His continued ab¬
sence alarmed us for his safety and the circumstance
that the prairies had been on fire for several days
past in the direction through which he must pass
to reach us added to our anxiety. Night came on
and the dark clouds, which overhung us like an im¬
mense pall, now assumed a horrible lurid glare all
along the horizon. As far as the eye could reach a
belt of fire was visible. We were on the prairie, be¬
tween the Kansas River on one side and Solomon’s
Fork on the other and Salt Creek on the third and
a large belt of woods about four miles from camp
on the fourth. We were thus completely hemmed
in and comparatively secure from danger. Our
animals were grazing near this belt of woods the
day before and when they had been driven into
camp at night one of the mules was missing. At
daylight a number of Indians, Egloffstein and my¬
self sallied out in search of it. After looking
through the woods for an hour we discovered our
mule lying dead with the lariat drawn close around
his neck. It had been loose and, trailing along the
ground, had become entangled in the branches of
an old tree and in his endeavor to extricate himself

THE FIFTH EXPEDITION

339

he was strangled. We were attracted to the spot by
the howling of wolves and we found that he had
been partially devoured by them. Our engineer,
who wanted a wolf skin for a saddle cloth, deter¬
mined to remain to kill one of them. I assisted him
to ascend a high tree immediately over the body of
the mule and untied the lariat and attaching his
rifle to one end of it he pulled it up to him. The
rest of the party returned to camp. About four
o’clock in the afternoon, he being still out, I
roasted some buffalo meat and went to seek him. I
found him still in the tree quietly waiting his op¬
portunity to kill a wolf. He declined to come down.
I told him to what danger he was exposing himself
and entreated him to return to camp. Finding him
determined to remain I sent up his supper and re¬
turned to camp, expecting him to be in by sun¬
down. The prairies were now on fire just beyond
the belt of woods and through which he had to pass.
Becoming alarmed for Egloffstein several went to
bring him in. We found him half way to camp
dragging by the lariat the dead body of an immense
wolf he had shot. We assisted him on with his booty
as well as we could. My guard came in at two
o’clock. I lay down to take a three hours’ rest.
When I went on duty the scene that presented itself
was sublime. A breeze had sprung up, which dis¬
sipated the smoke to windward. The full moon
was shining brightly and the piles of clouds, which
surrounded her, presented studies of light and
shadow, which Claude Lorraine so loved to paint.
The fire had reached the belt of woods and had
already burned part of the tree our friend had been

340

A MAN UNAFRAID

seated in all day. The fire on the north side had
burned up to the water’s edge and there stopped.
The whole horizon now seemed bounded by fire;
our Delawares by this time had picketed all the
animals near the creek we were camped on and all
the baggage of the camp safely carried down the
bank near the water. When day dawned the mag¬
nificent woods, which had sheltered our animals,
now appeared a forest of black, scathed trunks.
When the fire gradually increased around us we
dared not change our ground; first because we saw
no point where there was not more danger than
where we were; second if we moved away the In¬
dian chief, Solomon, who, after conducting us to
the camp ground we now occupied had returned to
guide Colonel Fremont, would not know exactly
where to find us again. Just after breakfast one of
the Delawares gave a loud whoop and pointed to
the burning prairies before us, where, to our great
joy, we saw Colonel Fremont, followed by an im¬
mense man, who proved to be the doctor, on an
immense mule and the Indian chief and his servant,
galloping through the blazing element in the direc¬
tion of our camp. Instantly, with one accord, all
the men discharged their rifles in a volley; our tents
were struck and we wanted to make a signal for
their guidance. We all reloaded and when they
were very near we fired a salute. Our men and In¬
dians immediately surrounded Colonel Fremont
with kind inquiries as to his health. No father, who
had been absent from his children, could have been
received with more enthusiasm and real joy. To
reach us he had to travel over fifty miles of country

THE FIFTH EXPEDITION

341

which had been on fire. The Indian trail which
led to our camp from Solomon’s Fork being obliter¬
ated, it was most difficult and arduous to follow it,
but the keen sense of the Indian directed him under
all difficulties directly to the spot where he had left
us. During the balance of the day we put the camp
in traveling order. With the arrival of the Colonel
our provisions had received considerable additions,
more in fact than he had any good reason to sup¬
pose we had consumed during his absence. During
the night the fire crossed the Kansas River and was
directly approaching our camp. At daylight our
animals were all packed, the camp raised, and all
the men in their saddles. Our only escape was
through the burning grass. We dashed into it. Colo¬
nel Fremont at the head, his officers following,
while the rest of the party were driving up the
baggage animals. The distance we rode through the
blazing fire could not have been more than one hun¬
dred feet — the grass which quickly ignites as
quickly consumes, leaving only black ashes in the
rear. We passed through the fiery ordeal unscathed;
made that day over the burnt ravines about fifteen
miles and camped for the night on the dry bed of a
creek beyond the reach of the devouring elements.”

After journeying a few days the party arrived
at Bent’s Fort. They had lost five animals. There
was a village of Cheyennes near Bent’s consisting
of about one hundred and fifty lodges and here they
found the missing mules and horses. They had been
stolen by these Indians. At the fort they obtained
two tepees, large enough for the entire company,
though Fremont purchased a small one for himself.

342

A MAN UNAFRAID

Among other things bought here were robes and
moccasins. They remained at Bent’s nearly a week,
replenishing their equipment. The big doctor re¬
turned to St. Louis as his services were no longer
needed. The party proceeded up the Arkansas,
passing Huerfano Butte. They entered the moun¬
tains on December 3rd, crossing the Wet Moun¬
tain Range and by way of Sand Hill Pass traversed
the Sangre de Cristo, descending into San Luis Val¬
ley, where they picked up the trail of Gunnison, who
had preceded them. They traveled up the big val¬
ley and made their camp on Sawatch Creek, which
comes down from Cochetope Pass. They camped
here for a number of days, hunting deer in this
natural park land. So far they had met with no
snow and had traveled slowly, awaiting winter
weather. The ground was dry, making travel easy
to the pass. When the Colonel reached Cochetope
on December 14th he found his wish for wintry
weather fully gratified. The snow, though light
in the pass, was nearly three feet deep on the higher
ridges. Cochetope Pass has an elevation of nine
thousand and eighty-eight feet. It was to this point
that Fremont should have gone in 1848 had it not
been for his determination to find some other way
by the head of the Rio Grande. The pass has been
described as a "wonderful gap, or more properly
speaking, a natural gate as its name denotes in the
Utah language. On each side mountains rise in
abrupt and rocky precipices. Cochetope signifies
Buffalo Gate and the Mexicans have the same name
for it, El Puerto de los Cibolos.” It is, perhaps,
needless to say that many thousands of buffaloes

THE FIFTH EXPEDITION 3 4 3

once traveled it, as it bears the imprint of their
sharp hoofs.

On leaving the pass the party followed down a
creek to a river which bears the name of Gunnison.
Arriving at White Earth Creek they made a short
cut to the Uncompahgre River, later coming to the
Gunnison and following it to the Grand. They con¬
tinued their way along the Grand for a time, then
crossed the arid plains to the west, finally arriving
at what is now Gunnison Valley in Utah. They
crossed the Green River near the mouth of the San
Rafael, ascending this stream for some distance
when they turned south along the edge of the San
Rafael Swell and came to a river named after Fre¬
mont by Major Powell in 1871. He then turned
west up Fremont River to Rabbit Valley, Utah,
thence to Grass Valley, thence down Otter Creek to
the east fork of the Sevier and on to Circle Valley.
His course then lay south up the Sevier, where he
crossed some mountains to the west, through which
is Fremont Pass, arriving at the California road a
short distance above the settlement of Parowan.

*Trom the time that Fremont diverged from
Gunnison’s trail,” writes Dellenbaugh, *'just before
reaching Green River, till he arrived at Circle Val¬
ley on the Sevier, or even at Fremont Pass, he was ,
again something of a 'pathfinder’ for he traveled
new ground. There may have been a branch of the
Spanish Trail in this direction, as suggested on some
old maps, in which case he may have traveled its
course part of the time, but on the War Depart¬
ment map of i860 the region he is now traversing
and much more, was represented by a blank. It

344

A MAN UNAFRAID

continued to be so represented on authentic maps
till the Powell survey explored and mapped it in
1869-1875.”

In making their way through Grand River Val¬
ley it became necessary to climb steep mountains
covered with two or three feet of snow. When the
party was half way up a pack mule lost his footing
and fell over a precipice, carrying with him nearly
everyone in his immediate vicinity. Mr. Carvalho
was thrown from his horse, which went tumbling
down the mountainside for several hundred feet,
but was fortunately unharmed.

The weather grew very cold, Carvalho reporting
thirty degrees below zero at daylight. They were
now in the unknown mountains, in an unexplored
region where it took sublime courage to proceed.
Moreover, it was midwinter with all that the term
implies — keen, searching winds, bitter cold nights
and falling snow, without a trace or track of any
evidence of civilization. What utter wildness! What
pictures rise in the mind at the thought of them
breaking their way across the snow-mantled ranges
and threading the tortuous course of wild and
rugged canyons.

CHAPTER XIII

Hunger and Hardships

Gradually the supply of food grew less and the
Delawares went out in search of game, returning
with a young, fat horse they had killed — one of a
drove of wild horses observed by members of the
caravan some miles distant. Horse meat was con¬
sidered a rare delicacy by the men and this one was
especially relished, being in much finer condition
than those in the pack train. Footprints of the Utes
were also discovered by the Delawares, which
caused the Colonel to make a personal inspection
of all firearms carried by the party. He also warned
the men to keep their guns in perfect order.

“Suddenly it occurred to me,” says Carvalho,
“that my double-barreled gun might be out of
order. I had used it as a walking stick in descend¬
ing the mountain — that day the snow was so deep
that I was obliged to resort to that course to ascend
myself. I quietly went to the place where I had laid
it down and attempted to fire it off; both caps
snapped. The quick ear of Colonel Fremont heard
the caps explode. He approached me very solemnly
and gave me a lecture, setting forth the conse¬
quences, which might have resulted from a sudden
attack of Indians on our camp. ‘Under present cir¬
cumstances, Mr. Carvalho,’ he said, T should have
to fight for you.’ His rebuke was merited and had
its effect throughout the camp, for all the men
were most particular afterwards in keeping their
arms in perfect order.”

(345)

346 A MAN UNAFRAID

Very soon they came to a village of Utes contain¬
ing a large number of lodges. The men of the tribe
were mostly armed with rifles, but appeared quite
friendly. During the evening presents were made
to the Indians — blankets, knives, tobacco, etc.
About nine o’clock, after a double guard had been
placed around the animals and the men were en¬
joying some roast venison, loud voices were heard
as though a burial ceremony was going on. Women
could be heard weeping and wailing, and in a short
time the whole Indian population came into camp
headed by a half-breed, who spoke Spanish. It
seems that the young horse killed by the Delawares
the previous evening was said to be the property of
one of the squaws, who thought a great deal of it
and a settlement was demanded. The Colonel re¬
mained in his lodge and would not see the Indians,
but had one of his men inform them that it was
not right to have killed the horse and that he would
pay the owner whatever she thought it was worth.
Having seen the various articles of the party the
Indians wanted nearly everything, including a keg
of gunpowder. Fremont, thinking he was being
held up, absolutely refused to meet the demands,
holding on to every grain of powder. Then the
Utes became very abusive and threatened to attack,
but the Colonel defied them. After much parleying
they were finally pacified and departed near day¬
light.

"The next camp was on Grand River, and while
at supper, the alarm was given that Indians were
coming. Everything was made ready to receive
them. A band of sixty Utes armed with rifles, bows

HUNGER AND HARDSHIPS

347

and arrows, bedecked with feathers and gay with
red and yellow blankets, came galloping into camp.
They also demanded payment for the horse the
Delawares had killed and for which settlement had
already been made. It would appear that the animal
was in the nature of community property, belong¬
ing to every tribe in that region. The Indians said
that the squaw who claimed the horse was not the
rightful owner, but that it belonged to one of the
warriors present. They threatened that unless they
were paid many blankets, knives, and much powder
they would begin immediate hostilities. On such
occasions the Colonel did not show himself, the In¬
dians having more respect for the Great Captain,
as he was called, if he remained in his lodge. Nor
did he communicate personally with them, which
gave him an opportunity to think over what course
he should pursue and at the same time *'lent a mys¬
terious importance to his messages.”

Carvalho was very much alarmed and going to
the Colonel’s lodge told him of the threats made
by the Indians. Fremont announced his determina¬
tion not to submit to such an imposition and merely
laughed at the talk of complete annihilation of his
party. He appeared as calm as though ordering his
breakfast, in direct contrast to the frightened man
whose face betrayed his anxiety. Fremont said fur¬
ther that he was a student of Indian character and
expressed a doubt if there was enough powder in the
entire band of Utes to load a single rifle. He reasoned
that if they had any ammunition they would have
surrounded and massacred the party and stolen what
they were then demanding and parleying for. This

348

A MAN UNAFRAID

was a rather sensible way to look at the situation
and Carvalho at once took a different viewpoint.
Tearing a leaf from his journal the Colonel handed
it to his messenger, saying, "Here, take this, and
place it against a tree at a distance near enough to
hit every time. Discharge your Colt’s six-shooter —
fire at intervals of ten to fifteen seconds and call the
attention of the Indians to the fact that it is not
necessary for the white men to load their arms.”

After the first shot was fired the Indians pointed
to their own rifles as much as to say they could do
the same thing, but when Carvalho fired a second
shot without lowering his weapon they were
startled. At the third shot they were curious and
slightly amazed. For the fourth shot the pistol
was placed in the hands of the chief, who fired, hit¬
ting the paper. Two other Indians fired the remain¬
ing shots whereon Carvalho substituted another
gun and, after firing a few shots, convinced the
Indians that they were at the mercy of Fremont’s
men, who could kill them off in a twinkling of an
eye. After this they completely forgot their origi¬
nal demands and suggested that they were willing
to exchange some horses for blankets. This was
done, but the animals purchased proved worthless
except for food. As it was nearly dark the Indians
asked to remain in camp, a request which was
granted, though eleven men stood guard all armed
and extremely watchful. The Indians, who, no
doubt, had planned to steal some horses during the
night were disappointed. They quietly stole away
the following morning, when Fremont energeti¬
cally exclaimed: "The price of safety is eternal vigi-

HUNGER AND HARDSHIPS

349

lance.” In speaking of the Colonel’s demeanor
while on this expedition Carvalho says :

"Colonel Fremont never forgot that he was a
gentleman; not an oath; no boisterous ebullitions
of temper. Calmly and collectedly he gave his
orders and they were invariably fulfilled to the
utmost of the men’s ability. He would often enter¬
tain us, before the extreme hardships began, with
his adventures on different expeditions. Although
on the mountains and away from civilization. Colo¬
nel Fremont’s lodge was sacred from all that was
immodest, light or trivial; each and all of us enter¬
tained the highest regard for him. The greatest
etiquette and deference was always paid him, al¬
though he never ostensibly required it. Yet his re¬
served and unexceptionable deportment demanded
from us the same respect with which we were al¬
ways treated and which we ever took pleasure in
reciprocating.”

In crossing Grand River they experienced much
difficulty as in the swift current the water was not
frozen over, but ran with great velocity. It was
about six feet deep and some two hundred yards
in width, with heavy ice along the banks. To pre¬
vent the horses from slipping a quantity of sand
was sprinkled over the ice. The pack animals were
first driven into the sweeping flood and swam to the
opposite bank. Then the riders entered, Fremont
leading the way. Naturally their clothing was soon
water soaked and froze quickly after they had
made the crossing. Around a fire which the Dela¬
wares had made the men dried their apparel and
warmed themselves after their frigid bath.

350

A MAN UNAFRAID

As game was scarce it was impossible to add to
their store of provisions and in consequence the
commissary was reduced to almost nothing. At
last it became necessary to kill one of their faithful
horses. This was regarded as a great sacrifice — a
solemn event rendered more so by the impressive
words addressed to them by Fremont. Calling the
men together he told them to what extremity he
had been reduced on a former expedition when
from sheer starvation the men ate one another. He
made them swear that under no circumstance
would they resort to cannibalism, but would live
and die without preying on their comrades.
Twenty-two men with bowed heads took the sol¬
emn vow "So help me God.” They knelt in the
snow, in the untracked wilderness with the white-
robed mountain peaks the only witnesses to the
dramatic scene, alone with their Maker in that vast
solitude. It was a time for serious reflection and to
Carvalho the words of the Psalmist offered consola¬
tion: They wandered in the tvilderness in a solitary
way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and
thirsty their soul fainteth within them and they
cried unto the Lord in their trouble and He deliv¬
ered them out of their distresses.

A beaver, which was shot by a sentry, was cooked
for breakfast and served to the twenty-two men, so
we may judge the size of each portion. After cross¬
ing the arid waste between the Grand and Green
rivers, avoiding the almost impregnable region to
the south, where there were numerous canyons and
pinnacles, they came upon a party of Utes and were
conducted to a village close by where they hoped

HUNGER AND HARDSHIPS

351

to obtain some food, but the Indians had only grass
seed to offer them. They could purchase but a
small amount of this, but together with the meat
of a lame horse, which they also bought, they fared
some better. The animals were weak from the
scarcity of grass, having little or no opportunity to
graze as the snow covered the ground so deep they
could not paw it away. Then to add to their mis¬
fortunes the pole that sustained the main lodge
gave way, forcing the men to sleep without shelter
in the open and more frequently under a blanket
of snow. The Colonel had his skin lodge, which was
carried along after the fashion of the Indians, but
a greater part of the baggage was left behind under
stress of travel. Twenty-seven of the animals had
been killed for food and this loss meant that some
of the men were obliged to go on foot. Finally all
the extra equipment, including blankets, clothing,
and pack-saddles, was wrapped in the buffalo skins
forming the great lodge and then buried in the snow,
the whole being covered with brush so as to escape
notice. When a mule or a horse was unable to go
any farther it was shot by the Delawares, its throat
cut, the blood being saved in the camp kettle. The
animal was then divided into twenty-two parts,
two parts of which were given to Colonel Fremont
and his cook, ten parts to the men of the white
camp and ten to the Indians. Hitherto the Colonel
had eaten with his officers, but now he asked that
they excuse him, as it called to his mind the terrible
scenes of his last expedition. Besides he had an aver¬
sion to seeing his officers eat such loathsome food.
He adopted a rule that each animal should serve for

352

A MAN UNAFRAID

six meals for the camp. Of course if one should give
out in the meantime this rule did not apply and if
the men chose to eat their allotted six meals in one
day they would have to go without "until the time
arrived for killing another.” It happened fre¬
quently that the white camp went without food
for thirty-six hours, while Fremont and the Dela¬
wares ate regularly as they kept to their daily al¬
lotment. To ease the pangs of hunger the others of
the party would take from their portion of meat,
little by little, until no more was left. Carvalho
describes his own suffering as being so great that he
lost all sense of right and wrong and one night,
while going on guard, he stole a piece of frozen
horse liver, ate it raw and thought it the most de¬
licious morsel he had ever tasted.

In preparing a horse the entrails were "well
shaken” as they had no water to wash them in. They
were then boiled in melted snow for a soup, which
was highly flavored, the men requesting the cook
not to skim it lest some of the nutriment be lost.
The hide of the animal was then divided equally
among them, while the bones were roasted to a
crisp. These the men munched on as they traveled.
Where the snow had not covered the ground there
was an occasional growth of cactus, which they ate
after burning off the prickly exterior. The cactus
resembled in taste that of an Irish potato paring.
For nearly fifty days the party subsisted on this
kind of food as they journeyed between the Grand
and Green rivers and over the first range of the
Wasatch Mountains. The Colonel went ahead
tramping a pathway for the men to follow. Toward

THE GOLDEN GATE

John Charles Fremont named the gatelike entrance to the Bay of San Francisco the Golden Gate in an official
communication to Washington, D. C., June, 1848. He wrote in his "Memoirs” as follows: "To this gate I gave
the name of Chrysopylae, or Golden Gate, for the same reason that the harbor of Byzantium was named the

Golden Horn, Chrysoceras.”

HUNGER AND HARDSHIPS

353

the last week of the journey nearly all were with¬
out shoes, some had pieces of rawhide tied on their
feet, which became stiff and hard from repeated
freezing and thawing and were more than uncom¬
fortable.

Gradually they worked their way over the Wa¬
satch Range, now known as the High Plateaus. On
one occasion, while they were struggling along the
side of a mountain, Fremont was suddenly over¬
come with weakness. It seemed to him that he could
not take another step. Without letting anyone
know of his condition he soon reached a good camp¬
ing place and ordered a halt for the night. The
next morning the sensation of weakness had left
him, and he took up the march, though his men
remained in ignorance of his real reason for going
into camp so early the day before. Regardless of
the snow or the wind the Colonel made daily astro¬
nomical observations. One day he told Carvalho
that the little Mormon town of Parowan was just
over the mountains and that he expected to reach it
in three days. But the snow was very deep in the
canyons. It was with the utmost difficulty that
they were able to proceed and the Delawares were
strongly opposed to making an attempt to cross the
range. Fremont said the mountains must be crossed
and, accordingly, took the lead up the steep slopes,
snow-clad and formidable. At length they gained
the summit only to see more mountains ahead that
seemed to offer an impassable barrier, Carvalho
says that for the first time his heart failed him.

By this time many of the men were without
covering for their feet, except, perhaps, some rags

354

A MAN UNAFRAID

tied on with strings. They were nearly starved and
human endurance could not stand the strain much
longer. The Delawares, who had been more careful
with their rations, were in a much better physical
condition. Fuller, who had been walking several
weeks, suddenly collapsed. Carvalho and two of
the engineers were with him at the time. They tried
to assist him but as the snow was very deep and his
feet badly frozen, the attempt to aid him failed.
He insisted that they leave him and hasten to camp
for relief, so they wrapped him in blankets and left
him on the trail. There was nothing with which
to build a fire for the suffering man — only a dreary
waste of snow and rocks without a sign of vegeta¬
tion. Then, too, his companions were badly crippled
and did not make camp until ten o’clock that night
when a heavy fall of snow began. Telling the Colo¬
nel of Fuller’s plight he sent a Mexican with two
of the best animals and some roasted horse meat to
the rescue. That night the men were greatly agi¬
tated, some shedding tears over the condition of
their comrade. They sat up late anxiously awaiting
the arrival of the Mexican. Daylight came and the
man had not returned, so Fremont ordered three
Delawares to go for Fuller. They were mounted
and he thought if anyone could make the trip they
were the men.

About ten o’clock one of them returned with the
Mexican and the two mules. He was badly frozen
and had suffered terribly. Shortly after his arrival
the other two Delawares came in, both supporting
Fuller, who was still conscious, though extremely
faint and with feet frozen to the ankles. Fremont

HUNGER AND HARDSHIPS

355

did everything possible for him, remaining three
days at the camp in which time it was hoped his
condition would improve. Finally they took up the
march with Fuller mounted on a mule and a Dela¬
ware on either side to keep him from falHng off.
Extra food from the men’s scanty store was given
him. On the 7th of February Fuller died as he rode
along — died almost within sight of relief. His two
companions wrapped him in his rubber blanket and
laid him across the trail. Fremont says, "He died
like a man, on horseback, in his saddle and will be
buried like a soldier on the spot where he fell.”

Soon after this the party reached the wagon road
connecting the Mormon settlement along the west¬
ern slope of the Wasatch Mountains. Here they
met the brother of the Chief of the Utes. One of
the band recognized the Colonel from his expedi¬
tion of 1844 and presented him with a dog. They
traded for some flour which, combined with dog
meat, provided a regal feast for the starving men.
The following day, after a short journey, they ar¬
rived at Parowan, camping near the town, where
they were once more able to obtain supplies. After
a day’s rest some of the men, accompanied by sev¬
eral of the townspeople, returned to the spot where
Fuller’s body was left and buried it.

At Parowan the party was sympathetically re¬
ceived by the Mormons, who opened their homes
to the sufferers. They were given beds and com¬
fortable rooms and were provided with excellent
food. Fremont appreciated the kindness of these
people more than words can tell. Years afterward
when Kate Field, then lecturing on the Pacific Coast

356

A MAN UNAFRAID

on **The Mormon Monster,” asked the Colonel to
introduce her to a Los Angeles audience he posi¬
tively refused, saying he could not do so, as the Mor¬
mons had once saved him and his party from starva¬
tion in 1 8 54. Gratitude for favors received was one
of his chief characteristics.

During the last two weeks of his journey Mrs.
Fremont was torn with anxiety, but was suddenly
relieved of all apprehension as to his safety by a
curious experience as related by her daughter. It
seems that he had made an entry in his journal,
putting there the thought that his wife in Wash¬
ington might know him to be safe. For several
weeks Mrs. Fremont had believed that her husband
was in desperate straits. One night following a
party when the girls had gathered around an open
fire, discussing the events of the evening, Mrs. Fre¬
mont stepped into an adjoining room for some
wood. As she picked up one of the sticks she felt
a hand touch her shoulder and heard the Colonel
whisper her name, "Jessie.”

"There was no sound save the quick whispered
name, no presence, only the touch, but my mother
knew as people know in dreams that my father was
there, gay and happy, and intending to startle
Susie, who, when my mother was married, was only
a child of eight and who was always a pet play¬
mate of my father. Her shrill, prolonged scream
was his delight and he never lost an opportunity
to startle her. Mother came back to the girls’ room,
but before she could speak Susie gave a great cry,
fell in a heap on the rug and screamed again and
again, until mother crushed her ball dress over her

HUNGER AND HARDSHIPS

357

head to keep the sound from the neighbors. Her
cousin asked mother what she had seen and she ex^
plained that she had seen nothing, but had heard my
father tell her to keep still until he could scare
Susie. Peace came to my mother instantly, and on
retiring she fell into a refreshing sleep from which
she did not waken until ten the next morning. All
fear of the safety of father had vanished from her
mind. When my father returned home we learned
that it was at the time the party was starving that
my mother had the premonition of evil having be¬
fallen them, and the entry in the journal showed
that exactly at the moment he had written it at
Parowan my mother had felt his presence and in
that wireless message from heart to heart knew
that my father was safe and free from harm. The
hour exactly tallied with the entry in his book, al¬
lowing for the difference in longitude.”

The party remained at Parowan until the 21st
of February. The settlers told Fremont that for
severity the winter surpassed anything they had
ever seen in that region. Carvalho and Egloffstein
were in such bad physical shape that they were
obliged to travel by wagon to Salt Lake, where the
former remained for several months recuperating,
after which he followed the Colonel’s trail of 1844
to California, meeting his old leader in San Fran¬
cisco.

In Parowan Fremont met Colonel Babbitt, Secre¬
tary of the Territory of Utah, who was leaving for
California and who asked the Colonel to accom¬
pany him; but the invitation was declined as the
survey was not yet completed. Babbitt reported

358

A MAN UNAFRAID

in San Francisco that the chances were against the
party getting through, as they were in such bad
shape, but Fremont was not the man to give up the
ship once it was launched, and with a smaller party
he made preparations to cross the great desert and
the white Sierra overlooking the sunset sea.

CHAPTER XIV

First Presidential Candidate of Republican Party

Through Colonel Babbitt, who went East by
Panama and through the correspondence of Car¬
valho published in a Philadelphia newspaper, the
public first learned of the safety of the Fremont
party, which was thought to have perished in the
mountain wilderness. But the Colonel was more
concerned in a railroad route than he was in perish¬
ing and from Parowan he addressed a letter to Sena¬
tor Benton in which he congratulated him on the
verification of his judgment and the good prospect
held out for final success in carrying the road by
the central line. *'In making my expedition to this
point,” he writes, "I save nearly a parallel of lati¬
tude, shortening the usual distance from Green
River here by over a hundred miles.” By this expe¬
dition Fremont had settled the main question that
had bothered them — that of the snows of winter
proving too great an obstacle to overcome. In his
letter he speaks of going through Cochetope Pass
with but four inches of snow on the ground, which
"decides what you consider the great question and
fulfills the leading condition of my explorations.”
However, Benton’s active interest in the Pacific
road, so far as Congress was concerned, had ceased.
Despite his thirty years of toil as a lawmaker and a
representative of the people of Missouri they re¬
fused to return him to Washington, so great was
the feeling against anyone who opposed slavery.

(359)

360

A MAN UNAFRAID

For the same reason Fremont had not been reelected
Senator in California, all of which presaged the
storm that was to follow.

The Colonel believed explicitly in a transconti¬
nental railroad and intended to devote himself as¬
siduously to its consummation, and we owe him a
great debt for his perseverance in this direction.
On leaving Parowan he decided to take a more di¬
rect route than that of 1844, but one which in¬
volved considerable hardship on account of the
scarcity of water and which the Mormons regarded
as practically impossible. Fiowever, he determined
to examine it in the interest of geography. He
never sent anyone back for the things he had cached
in the mountains wrapped in the covering of the
big lodge, but set out for another Mormon settle¬
ment called Cedar City, about eighteen miles from
Parowan and situated near the southeastern side of
the Escalante Desert. He followed the California
Road for a short time from Cedar City, then pro¬
ceeded westward across the desert into an unex¬
plored region. There was an occasional flurry of
snow and some hail, but they did not last long. In
due time they left Utah and entered upon the pla¬
teaus of Nevada "bristling with mountains, often
in short, isolated blocks and sometimes accumu¬
lated into considerable ranges with open and low
passes.” Not a human being was encountered be¬
tween Santa Clara Road near the Mormon settle¬
ments and the Sierra Nevada, a distance of more
than three hundred miles. Nevada was crossed not
far from the present town of Pioche. His course
then lay to the southwest, passing Thorp on the

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

361

Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad. He then went
south to the California line, then west to the Sierra,
which he climbed to an elevation of nine thousand
feet when he was stopped by deep snow, as he felt
he would be. Not caring to attempt a passage he
returned to the lower country and again went south
along the eastern slope of the mountains, where the
party had an encounter with the Indians, whom
they defeated, capturing a number of horses.

Two or three days’ travel farther south and the
Colonel began to look for a pass through the moun¬
tains into the San Joaquin Valley. He found several
routes which looked promising, but did not hesi¬
tate long in choosing a way as the men were again
living on horse meat. He finally discovered an open¬
ing some thirteen miles in length and lying quite
near to Walker’s Pass. Through this he crossed to
a small branch of the Kern River. He was sure that
this pass and the valley to which it led offered a way
for wagon travel where no obstruction existed for
forty miles. He reached San Francisco about the
I St of May, where he was tendered a public dinner,
which he was forced to decline as he was desirous
of getting East as quickly as possible. He arrived in
Washington the same month. May, 1855.

The following spring he went with his family to
New York, where for several months he was en¬
gaged with the photographer, Brady, in making
into photographs the daguerre plates taken by
Carvalho. Some of the views were done in color by
the painter Hamilton of Philadelphia. The story of
the various expeditions was to have been pubHshed
by George Childs, but Fremont was too busily en-

362

A MAN UNAFRAID

gaged to write and the plan fell through, but the
material collected was saved for future use. Even
now there was more or less talk of Fremont for
President. In April, 1 8 5 6, he was asked to partici¬
pate in a meeting in New York called for the pur¬
pose of discussing the repeal of the "Missouri Com¬
promise” as it affected the anti-slavery agitation.
While he was prevented from attending the meet¬
ing by previous engagements, he wrote a strong let¬
ter in which he said, "I am opposed to slavery in
the abstract and upon principle, sustained and made
habitual by long settled convictions.” He regarded
the repeal of the Missouri Compromise as a blow to
national honor. For this reason he would not accept
the presidential nomination from the Democratic
Party, which was offered him by a number of men
prominent in that organization.

In June, 1856, there were assembled in conven¬
tion at Musical Fund Hall, Philadelphia, some thou¬
sand delegates for the purpose of nominating a
presidential ticket. It proved a momentous event
in American history, for on that occasion was wit¬
nessed the birth of the Republican Party. Previous
to this Millard Fillmore and Andrew Donelson had
been nominated for the Presidency and Vice Presi¬
dency by the "Know-Nothings.” Later on James
Buchanan and John C. Breckenridge were nomi¬
nated by the Democrats, but the new party chose
for its standard bearers John C. Fremont and Hon¬
orable William L. Dayton, formerly a United States
Senator, who had a competitor in the person of
Abraham Lincoln. The nomination of Fremont,
after a few ballots, was declared unanimous, so

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

363

he became the first candidate of the Republican
Party.

The platform as announced was opposed to the
repeal of the Missouri Compromise, to the Demo¬
cratic policy, to the further extension of slavery
into the free states, and urged the admission of
Kansas as a free state. All in all the platform,
enunciating the party’s principles, was a very out¬
spoken document. Colonel Fremont was duly noti¬
fied of his nomination and in reply to the committee
said, among other things, that “international em¬
barrassments are mainly the result of secret diplo¬
macy, which aims to keep from the knowledge of
the people the operations of the government.” It
will be remembered that President Wilson bore
strongly upon the evils of “secret diplomacy”
during the World War. Many years before, John C.
Fremont had pronounced against it, as with his
prophetic vision he saw its danger to the peace of
the world.

Soon after the convention in Philadelphia an¬
other body of citizens gathered in New York and
formed the “National American Party,” which
tendered its support to Colonel Fremont. Abraham
Lincoln, who was at the head of the Fremont elec¬
toral ticket for Illinois, made numerous campaign
speeches in that state. Although opposed to slavery.
Senator Benton labored under the delusion that all
reforms could be accomplished within the Demo¬
cratic fold, and in consequence offered no aid to
his son-in-law. In fact, Benton wrote to the New
York Times that he was entirely opposed to the
movement in which the Colonel was engaged and

364

A MAN UNAFRAID

could "do nothing to promote it in any way.” In a
speech delivered about this time he said:

"I will assist the new President (for I look upon
Mr. Buchanan’s election as certain) in doing what I
am sure he will do, that is to say all in his power to
preserve the peace of the country at home and
abroad and to restore the fraternal feelings between
the different sections of the Union now so lamen¬
tably impaired. ... It is unnecessary for me to
speak of other parties. I adhere to my own and sup¬
port it and that to the exclusion of all the rest. One
only I allude to — one with which the name of a
member of my family is connected and in reference
to which some persons who judge me by themselves
attribute to me a sinister connection. ... I am
above family and above self when the good of the
Union is concerned.”

Fremont could expect no help from his father-
in-law, who remained as adamant in his loyalty to
the Democratic Party. The most enthusiastic meet¬
ing was held in Newark, New Jersey, in June, 1856,
ratifying the nomination of Fremont. It was said
to exceed that accorded "Tippacanoe and Tyler,
too” in point of fervor and emotion. The greatest
excitement prevailed throughout the country. It
was openly stated by one of the candidates on an
opposition ticket that should the Colonel be success¬
ful the Southern states would withdraw from the
Union in a body. Millard Fillmore said to a crowd
in Albany, New York:

"We see a political party presenting candidates
for the Presidency and Vice Presidency selected for
the first time from the free states alone, with the

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

365

avowed purpose of electing their candidates by the
suffrage of one part of the Union only, to rule over
the whole United States. Canit be possible that those
who are engaged in such a measure can have seri¬
ously reflected upon the consequences which must
inevitably follow in case of success? Can they have
the madness or folly to believe that our Southern
brethren would submit to be governed by such a
magistrate? . . . If the Sectional Party succeeds it
leads inevitably to the destruction of this beautiful
fabric reared by our forefathers, cemented by their
blood and bequeathed to us as a precious inherit¬
ance.”

Toombs expressed the opinion that the "election
of Fremont would be an end to the Union and ought
to be. The object of Fremont’s friends is the con¬
quest of the South. I am content that they should
own us when they have conquered us, but not be¬
fore.” As an instance of the intense feeling which
existed at the time a man in Virginia who attended
the Republican convention was driven from the
state, and Botts, who said the South would not se¬
cede in case of Fremont’s election, was ordered by
the Richmond Enquirer to leave the state at once
and not "provoke the disgrace of a lynching.” A
dismal picture of conditions in the North, should
the Republicans prove successful, was painted by
various orators. The financial and industrial ruin
of the North was inevitable. There would be no
exchange of goods. The trade of the South would
enter new channels. Three million working men in
the North would be deprived of an opportunity to
earn a living. The steamboats and railroads would

366

A MAN UNAFRAID

carry no more Southern passengers; the business
houses of the North which had Southern customers
would close their doors; hundreds of ships would be
idle; commerce would vanish and credit be gone.

Should Fremont’s election be followed by seces¬
sion it will not be any act of the Republicans, was
the reply to the threats of the Democrats who
planned to destroy the Union, thus breaking one
of the cardinal principles of democracy that the
majority shall rule. The Republicans had a strong
appeal to the naturalized citizen, so far as the ques¬
tion of slavery was concerned. It was asked of him
if he could compete with slave labor or be a free
man on slave soil. Fremont was opposed to the ex¬
tension of slavery. He was for making Kansas a free
state and keeping it open to honest working men.
He advocated the building of a Pacific Railway,
which would give work for a term of years to thou¬
sands of laborers.

Rocky Mountain clubs. Pioneer clubs, Fremont
and Freedom clubs were formed and in various
large cities there were torchlight processions each
night in which campaign songs were sung and en¬
thusiasm was unbounded. Great mass meetings
were held and it was estimated that a hundred thou¬
sand people were present at one in Pittsburgh, while
twenty thousand listened to a speech from the bal¬
cony of the Merchants Exchange on Wall Street.
The Northern nonslave states carried on a most
vigorous campaign, while the Southern politicians
grew more and more vehement in their denuncia¬
tion of the Fremont ticket. In their opinion he was
a traitor to his country. On the contrary the abo-

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE 3 67

litionists of the North looked upon him as the eman¬
cipator — a man destined to free the slaves of the
South. The fiercest struggle was in Pennsylvania,
as this state was regarded as the battleground of
the contending forces. Its twenty-seven electoral
votes would determine the victor, consequently the
contest raged here with unabated vigor. The west¬
ern half of the state was for Fremont overwhelm¬
ingly, while the eastern portion was for Buchanan.
There was nothing that the Colonel’s opponents did
not resort to in order to prejudice the voter. All
sorts of slanderous tales were circulated. The big¬
ger the lie that was told about him the greater the
satisfaction it gave to his enemies. For vitupera¬
tion and calumny the presidential campaign of 1 8 5 6
is unsurpassed in the history of the United States.
Fremont was called "a shallow, vainglorious, woolly
horse, mule-eating, free love, nigger-embracing,
black Republican — a financial spendthrift and a
political mountebank.” It was more than a mud-
slinging campaign. In some respects it was posi¬
tively vicious and the bitterness exhibited fore¬
shadowed the long and terrible Civil War which
settled forever the issues involved in that campaign.

Of course some of the charges made against Fre¬
mont were absolutely silly. Because he inscribed a
cross on Independence Rock he was said to be a
Catholic, there being at the time a great prejudice
against that religious denomination. One party
wrote to the papers scouting the idea that he was
the discoverer of South Pass when he made no claim
to this honor. He was attacked for wearing a beard
and mustache; he was called a French actor recently

368

A MAN UNAFRAID

from Paris ; a foreigner born in Montreal, who was
trying to take the reins of government and drive
the nation to destruction. Anything and every¬
thing that his opponents could conceive was
brought against him.

"The campaign was full of personalities,” writes
his daughter, "and my father’s nature was such that
he could not have withstood its bitterness. He was
used to life in the open and wanted a square fight,
not one filled with petty innuendoes and recrimina¬
tions. So at the outset it was agreed that he should
not read the newspapers until they had been blue-
penciled by my mother — a promise he religiously
kept during all of the excitement of the year.”

Among the campaign songs of the period, per¬
haps the following was the most popular:

All hail to Fremont! Swell the lofty acclaim
Like winds from the mountain, like prairies aflame!

Once more the Pathfinder is forth on his hunt,

Clear the way for free soil, for free men and Fremont!

We’ll spurn, every fetter, we’ll break every rod.

And Kansas shall bloom like the Garden of God,

When we plant the white banner of Freedom upon’t
And cry, "To the rescue, free men and Fremont!”

Oh, the land that we love shall be sacred from slaves.
From the tyrant’s misrule and the plunder of knaves.
We’ll baptise the Union in Liberty’s font.

And the faith of our fathers shall live with Fremont!

The pulpits of the North were kept busy refut¬
ing the calumnies against the Colonel and urging
the abolition of slavery. The men of letters in the
free states lent their undivided support to the Re-

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE 3 69

publican ticket. It is said that Longfellow post¬
poned a trip to Europe to cast his vote for Fremont.
Willis, who had never voted in his life, declared his
first vote should go to the Republican leader. Irv¬
ing made a similar promise. Bryant, Emerson, and
George William Curtis took the platform; Whit¬
tier, Lowell, and others kept their pens busy pro¬
claiming freedom for the slaves. Theirs was a right¬
eous cause and they entered into the fight with the
zeal such an issue inspires. The extreme laudation
Fremont received only increased the hatred of the
pro-slavery advocates.

At this time he is described by one of his ardent
admirers as follows:

*Tn the midst of the group sat a small, intense,
earnest, determined-looking man, who bore the
traces of hardship and toil, yet his countenance
beamed with such an expression of good nature that
it seemed to preserve a magnetic attraction for his
guests. . . . His hair, parted down the middle,
swept with graceful luxuriance over his broad, high
temples; his feet were encased in a pair of light
slippers; he wore neither suspenders nor vest, and
his coat was of calico thrown carelessly across his
shoulders. . . . Intelligence was breathed with
every utterance; resolution was portrayed upon
every feature; modesty, ability, integrity were
written as plainly as the alphabet upon the whole
man. ... I have yet to see an engraving of Fre¬
mont that does him justice. The features may be
faithfully delineated, but his eye — I never saw one
with such an earnest expression, such vivid inten¬
sity.’*

370

A MAN UNAFRAID

He is described by John Bigelow as being '*about
five feet nine inches in height, slight and sinewy in
his structure, but gracefully proportioned and emi¬
nently prepossessing in his personal appearance. His
eyes are blue and very large, his nose aquiline, his
forehead, over which his brown curling hair is
parted at the center, is high and capacious. He never
shaves, but wears his beard neatly trimmed.”

C. S. Henry in writing to General Swift said:
"The prints fall exceedingly short in doing justice
to his appearance — utterly fail to give one the idea
of that rare union of gentleness, refinement, and
delicacy, with resolute energy and firmness, which
are so remarkable in his features and in the expres¬
sion of his countenance. His whole air and man¬
ner, tone and voice and way of speaking are those
of a quiet, modest, gentle, and sincere, yet firm and
earnest man, in whom the intellectual and moral
faculties are in fine harmony.”

When in the state election Pennsylvania went
Democratic the hope of the Republican Party
waned considerably, but the fight was kept up with
renewed vigor even though the effort was futile.
The Fremont— Dayton ticket was defeated, Bucha¬
nan receiving one hundred and seventy- four elec¬
toral votes to one hundred and fourteen by Fre¬
mont, which was a very good showing for so young
a pohtical organization. The Colonel’s friends were
very much disappointed, but he took his defeat very
philosophically. Preston Blair, who had a strong
hand in guiding the Republican campaign, broke
down completely when it was definitely known that
Fremont had been defeated. The Colonel’s daugh-

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

371

ter Elizabeth shed many tears, but her mother con¬
soled her with a heart-to-heart talk on courage
which served as a valuable lesson throughout her
entire Ufe.

It is quite probable that had Fremont been elected
the Civil War would have broken out almost im¬
mediately, as it was shown later that he would not
temporize. When he believed a thing was wrong he
did not hesitate to say so and acted at once with
vigor and determination to set it right. This is about
what he would have done had he won the Presi¬
dency.

In the spring following the memorable campaign
Fremont and his family journeyed to Paris. The
strain of the previous months had undermined Mrs.
Fremont’s health, and it was thought a brief stay
abroad would prove beneficial. Aside from this
they wished to say good-by to Mrs. Fremont’s sis¬
ter, commonly called "Aunt Susie” by the younger
generation, who was to take up her residence in
India, her husband having been appointed French
Consul to that country. They had been in Paris but
a short time when they were obliged to return to the
United States owing to the serious illness of Senator
Benton. After a few weeks in Washington the Sen¬
ator seemed so much improved in health that the
family proceeded to California by the Isthmus
route, going to Bear Valley on the Colonel’s Mari¬
posa estate. They had no more than arrived there
when news reached them of Senator Benton’s death.
It seems that he had requested his physician not to
tell his daughter of the serious nature of his malady
to save her unnecessary worry. His passing was a

372

A MAN UNAFRAID

great blow to Mrs. Fremont, and it was some time
before she recovered from the shock. The family
expected to remain in Bear Valley about three
months, which would afford them a pleasant vaca¬
tion, then to return to Paris. Fremont was now the
bona fide owner of the Mariposa, but his troubles
connected with this tract of land were by no means
at an end. The American law had not yet decided
whether or not gold and other precious minerals
went with the patent of ownership. Fiere was a
rather complex question. As a measure had been
passed in California making it lawful to *'jump a
claim” under conditions specified in the Act, the
miners took advantage of it and Fremont’s life was
made a burden.

Bear Valley was named after the grizzlies that
gathered there in great numbers. The white-washed
cottage occupied by the family was surrounded by
oaks, and its rooms were neatly papered, while two
brick chimneys added to the artistic appearance of
the place. Fremont felt it was a real home even
though it was far from the sea of which he had
dreamed. They were fortunate in obtaining vege¬
tables from an Italian gardener in exchange for the
waste water from one of the quartz mills. Indian
women were employed as servants and proved very
honest and industrious despite the fact that the
Colonel had been warned against them. Mrs. Fre¬
mont was not very contented in Bear Valley. It was
far removed from civilization and the things for
which she cared, but she seldom complained. She
was not interested in either mines or horses, while
Fremont and his daughter enjoyed their rides to-

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

373

gether over the hills and valleys of the forty-three-
thousand-acre estate.

If a mine was found to be abandoned anyone had
the right to take possession of it, which resulted in
the Colonel having no end of trouble over the Black
Drift mine. The man guarding it was bribed to
leave his post and squatters immediately took it. An
attempt to take the Pine Tree mine was not so suc¬
cessful. The guards were not so easily bribed. Five
men were far back in the mine at work under the
direction of a man named Ketton. The squatters,
thinking at first that the mine was without protec¬
tion, attempted to jump the claim, but discover¬
ing the five men demanded that they should give it
up. On refusal the squatters determined to starve
the men out and located themselves at the mouth of
the mine. In a few hours over a hundred men had
gathered there, denying anyone the right to enter.
Fremont had only twenty men to pit against them.
The situation was serious. The men in the mine had
sufficient fresh air coming in from an adjoining
shaft and plenty of water, but were without a mor¬
sel of food. Nor would the crowd permit any food
to be carried to them. On the broad space of ground
near the entrance to the mine the invaders camped
and took turns at standing guard. Fremont had
two problems to face: How to get word to the Gov¬
ernor and how to get food to the men. Finally
Mrs. Ketton, wife of the foreman, decided to "dare
the lion,” so taking a market basket full of provi¬
sions she presented herself at the entrance of the
mine, where she was refused admittance. This fired
her temper and she told the men that she intended

374

A MAN UNAFRAID

to take food to her husband. And she did so in spite
of all threats. Thus twice daily during the five days
of the siege Mrs. Ketton could be seen, basket in
hand, making for the Pine Tree mine.

The Colonel was worried for fear she would be
shot, but perhaps her safety lay in the fact that she
was a woman. Every pass leading to the Sacramento
Valley was picketed to prevent information being
sent the Governor. A young Englishman lived with
the Fremonts who, because of overstudy, was spend¬
ing some time in the mountains recuperating. He
volunteered to take the news to the Governor, but
the Colonel would not allow him to go. However,
Fremont’s daughter, unbeknown to her father,
loaned the young man her pet horse, "Ayah,” and
started him off by the light of the stars over Mount
Bullion to Coulterville, where he got a messenger to
go on to the capital and inform Governor Downey
of the situation on the Mariposa. The Governor dis¬
patched his own messenger to the scene of the
trouble, who informed the squatters that they had
no right to the mine and commanded them to dis¬
band at once or he would call out the militia. The
siege was thus brought to a sudden termination.

Mrs. Fremont was worn with anxiety over the
Colonel, who had made various speeches to the in¬
vading party, attempting to dissuade them from
their plan to capture the mine. A New York busi¬
ness man, who happened to be present during the
controversy, afterward told Mrs. Fremont that
during one of her husband’s speeches he counted
eleven rifles aimed at the speaker.

At one time notice was served on the family that

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

375

unless they vacated within twenty-four hours the
house would be burned and the Colonel killed. On
the occasion of the notice being served Fremont
was at the mine, and ordering the hired man to drive
her to Bear Valley Inn, Mrs. Fremont told the land¬
lord to inform the writers of the message that the
land belonged to them and that they intended to
keep it. In this instance she showed that she was
the true daughter of Senator Benton. The threat
conveyed in the notice was not carried out, but tin
cans filled with powder were exploded from time
to time during the nights that followed. A com¬
mittee of women afterward called on Mrs. Fremont
to thank her for remaining during the trouble.

When matters quieted down the Fremonts paid
a visit to San Francisco, and on their return to Bear
Valley they planned a trip to Yosemite. However,
just as they were leaving the cottage the Colonel
was called upon to defend his title to the Mariposa,
and the daughter, together with some friends, made
the journey to the famous valley. Their stay was
cut short by a battle between two tribes of Indians
of which they were warned by a friendly member
of one of the warring factions preceding hostili¬
ties. As the season advanced and the heat grew more
intense in Bear Valley the Fremonts moved to San
Francisco, the Colonel making frequent trips to his
mine to attend to business. In the city by the
Golden Gate the family went house hunting. For¬
tunately they found a little cottage just across the
channel from Alcatraz Island which won Mrs. Fre¬
mont’s heart. It was so close to the fort that they
were obliged to open the windows when the big

3/6

A MAN UNAFRAID

guns were fired to prevent the concussion from
shattering the panes.

The Colonel’s trouble with his Mariposa tract in¬
creased. His Presidential campaign had cost him a
great deal of money and this, together with the
expense of developing his mines, left him in strait¬
ened circumstances. From the beginning he had
proved a poor financier, as men are apt to be who
devote the major part of their lives to studying the
plants and flowers with which the Creator has beau¬
tified the world. That he was unsuccessful as a
money maker is nothing to his discredit. Many an
honest man has demonstrated his ability to get
into debt, and Fremont at this time found himself
financially embarrassed. A judgment was issued
against him for a considerable amount. The Mari¬
posa tract was sold by the sheriff in 1859 to the
plaintiff, Francisco O’Campo, who a few months
afterward made an assignment of the property to
Mark Brumagim of San Francisco, the Colonel’s
chief creditor, who offered to give him a certain
portion of the estate on conditions which he was
unable to meet.

At Black Point, two miles from the Golden Gate,
was situated the little cottage that had so pleased
Mrs. Fremont. Here they bought twelve acres of
land, paying forty-two thousand dollars for the
property, which was purchased from a San Fran¬
cisco banker. They set about to improve the place,
making walks and drives and building stables for
the horses, as well as beautifying it with gardens of
roses and other flowers. Now that her father was
gone Mrs. Fremont had no desire to return to the

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

377

East, and here the family found rest and pleasure
for some time. Among their frequent visitors was
the noted divine, Starr King, who took a prominent
part in saving California to the Union. He named
their home *'The Lodge by the Golden Gate” and
was one of their best beloved friends.

Another frequent visitor to the Fremonts was
*'a brilliantly clever and intensely shy” young man
named Francis Bret Harte, who was a regular con¬
tributor to a literary periodical of San Francisco,
The Golden Era, afterward owned by Harr Wag¬
ner and edited by his wife, Madge Morris. Young
Harte brought his manuscripts to Mrs. Fremont
for friendly criticism. She took a great interest in
the writer, obtaining a position for him in the Sur¬
veyor-General’s office, where he would be able to
devote more time to his literary work. Later on,
when a change of officials occurred, she succeeded in
placing him elsewhere. At the time Harte was about
twenty-two years of age and Mrs. Fremont saw a
touch of genius in his work, which has since been
recognized by the whole civilized world. After¬
ward he became editor of The Overland Monthly,
in which magazine he published his first pronounced
hit, "The Luck of Roaring Camp.” This won for
him an invitation to write for t\\e Atlantic Monthly,
which eventually took him East and thence across
the ocean to London. While Harte was a writer of
beautiful prose and an excellent story teller, as a
poet his work falls below that of his contemporary,
Joaquin Miller. However, he was the pioneer of
Western literature — the first to make the sunset
land known to the world of romance.

378

A MAN UNAFRAID

During the stay of the Fremonts at Black Point
the first pony express arrived with letters for them
from their Eastern friends. It was quite an event,
the family by chance having gone into San Fran¬
cisco on that day, where they witnessed the excite¬
ment attending the arrival of the mail. Soon after
this the Colonel went East and on to London. In
April, 1 8 6 1 , the sound of the gun that was fired on
Fort Sumpter reverberated throughout the land and
changed the course of people’s lives. The issue be¬
tween the North and South that was smoldering
during the Fremont campaign had finally burst into
flame. It has been said that no question is ever set¬
tled until it is settled right, and to settle the dif¬
ferences between the two sections of the Union
seemed to require a war, which for some time had
been regarded as inevitable. With the outbreak of
hostilities Mrs. Fremont began making preparations
to return East, but was so severely injured in a run^
away down Russian Hill that it was several weeks
before she could leave. She then rented the house
at Black Point and with her little daughter took
a ship bound for New York, loaded with soldiers.
The voyage up the Atlantic Coast was fraught
with excitement, the vessel being chased for a time
by a rebel privateer, the Jeff Davis, which fired two
shots that fortunately fell short of their mark.

On arriving at New York Mrs. Fremont was met
by the Colonel. While abroad he had acted as agent
for the government, had purchased arms and now
returned to be made a Major General by President
Lincoln with headquarters in St. Louis. The Fre¬
monts took up their residence in the Brant house.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

379

where their stay was made very unpleasant, many
of their old friends being Southern sympathizers.
He was given command of the Western Depart¬
ment.

The first Bull Run had ended in defeat for the
Union forces, which was quite discouraging to the
people of the North. St. Louis was in a sense a
Southern city, at least in sentiment. It was very
difficult for the war sewing circle to find a meeting
place until a patriotic German woman gave the cir¬
cle the use of her home. The women who stood with
the North were wont to carry their sewing into
public places to let it be known what their sym¬
pathies were. It was a time of the most intense feel¬
ing, when hatreds were kindled that never fully
died out. Even families were divided on the ques¬
tion of slavery, and because of the Southern senti¬
ment which prevailed in St. Louis it was thought
best by Fremont to place the city under martial law.
For this he was severely criticized by some of his
former friends, Blair declaring that such an act was
the **oflFspring of timidity” — as if there were any¬
thing timid about the General, who had faced more
dangers in a month than come to the average man in
a lifetime. In his martial edict it is quite probable
that he knew what he was about. When he arrived
at St. Louis he found things in a confused condition.
Men had not yet been organized into a fighting unit.
There were only raw recruits to deal with; ferry
boats were reconstructed so as to serve for gunboats,
and preparations made for a real war that might last
for several years. Fremont was not one of those who
underestimated the strength of the enemy. He

38o

A MAN UNAFRAID

knew the determination of the Confederacy and
felt that time should be taken to prepare ade¬
quately.

In his book entitled "General Fremont and the
Injustice Done Film by Politicians and Envious Mili¬
tary Men,” William Brotherhood says: "When Gen¬
eral Fremont took command of the Department of
the West it was well known that everything was
in a chaotic state. Floyd and other thieves had man¬
aged to steal all our arms, etc. Fie bought arms,
built barracks, organized his army, fortified St.
Louis, issued contracts to build ironclad gunboats,
and designed a new style of mortar boats.” It is evi¬
dent that his preparations were far more elaborate
than most people ever dreamed or considered neces¬
sary, but he knew what the war meant and intended
to make his department as efficient as possible. In
organization he was a master. In this respect he is
said to have resembled McClellan.

It was the General’s wish that the war should be
restricted to the soldiers on both sides, thus doing
away with unauthorized guerrilla bands so common
in Missouri at the time. To attain this he took the
matter up with General Price of the Confederate
forces, with whom he came to a definite agreement
as to a policy both sides should pursue. There was
to be no arrest of citizens for any expression of
opinion. Families broken up by the military were to
be reunited and the war carried to the armies in the
field.

On August 3 1 St, 1 8 6 1 , the General issued a proc¬
lamation which he addressed to all those who had
taken up arms against the Union and which con-

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

381

tained a clause that embarrassed the government
and ultimately resulted in his retirement from the
army. The offending clause is as follows:

*'The property, real and personal, of all persons
in the state of Missouri who shall take up arms
against the United States, or who shall be directly
proven to have taken an active part with their ene¬
mies in the field, is declared to be confiscated to the
public use, and their slaves, if any they have, are
hereby declared free men.”

This was a very sane and sensible utterance and is
said to have been the first emancipation proclama¬
tion ever put forth in the United States. It was
perfectly characteristic of Fremont. Today those
persons found guilty of giving aid and comfort to
an enemy of our government in time of war are
summarily dealt with by the authorities. To take
such action would require no proclamation what¬
soever. In issuing this mandate the General in¬
tended to put an end to disloyalty in Missouri, but
it acted like a bombshell. Lincoln was not ready for
any such drastic procedure. He had other plans of a
more diplomatic nature. He regarded the procla¬
mation as ill-timed and suggested its modification,
which Fremont left for him to do. Much discus¬
sion was provoked by this act, which was received
with acclaim by the abolitionists. Lincoln’s repeal of
the proclamation was considered by them a pro¬
slavery move and brought down the viles of wrath
upon the head of the martyred President.

*Tf I turn to General Fremont,” said Wendell
Phillips, 'T see a man whose first act was to use the
freedom of the negro as his weapon; I see one whose

382

A MAN UNAFRAID

thorough loyalty to democratic institutions, with¬
out regard to race, whose earnest and decisive char¬
acter, whose clear-sighted statesmanship and rare
military ability, justify my confidence that in his
hands all will be done to save the state that fore¬
sight, decision, and statesmanship can do.”

William Lloyd Garrison said that "Lincoln had
not a drop of anti-slavery blood in his veins.” Nat¬
urally Professor Royce finds the proclamation to
have been "bombastic” and characterized by "ef¬
frontery and hypocrisy,” a remark in perfect keep¬
ing with his ironclad prejudice. This only goes to
show the injustice done a brave and patriotic man
whose whole career proves him to be anything but a
hypocrite. The sentiment of the abolitionists was
well expressed in the following poem addressed
"To John C. Fremont” by John G. Whittier:

Thy error Fremont, simply was to act
A brave man’s part, without the statesman’s tact.

And, taking counsel but of common sense.

To strike at cause as well as consequence.

O, never yet since Roland wound his horn
At Roncesvalles, has a blast been blown
Far-heard, wide-echoed, startling as thine own.

Heard from the van of freedom’s hope forlorn!

It had been safer, doubtless, for the time.

To flatter treason, and avoid offense
To that Dark Power whose underlying crime
Heaves upward its perpetual turbulence.

But if thine be the fate of all who break
The ground for Truth’s seed, or forerun their years
Till lost in distance, or with stout hearts make
A lane for freedom through the level spears.

Still take thou courage! God has spoken through thee.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

383

Irrevocable, the mighty words, Be Free!

The land shakes with them and the slave’s dull ear
Turns from the rice-swamp stealthily, to hear.

Who would recall them now must first arrest
The winds that blow down from the free Northwest
Ruffling the Gulf ; or like a scroll roll back
The Mississippi to its upper springs.

Such words fulfill their prophecy and lack
But the full time to harden into things.

CHAPTER XV

T erritorial Governor of Arizona and Last Days

Later on during the war proclamations similar to
that of Fremont were issued by other generals, and
no complaint was made. During the hundred days
he served as Commander of the Department of the
West General U. S. Grant was one of his subordi¬
nates, and in his "Personal Memoirs” Grant tells of
the battle of Belmont, which was fought under Fre¬
mont’s orders and which was said by some Northern
critics to be wholly "unnecessary, barren of results
or the possibility of them from the beginning.”
General Grant says: "If it had not been foughtColo-
nel Oglesby would probably have been captured or
destroyed with his three thousand men. Then I
should have been culpable, indeed!”

In their volume, "The Civil War From a South¬
ern Standpoint,” W. R. Garret and R. A. Hawley
say that "Fremont was made the scapegoat.” Every¬
thing connected with his command of the Western
Department points in this direction. His superior
officers and the swivel-chair officials in Washington,
knowing him not to be a West Point graduate, did
everything in their power to influence the President
to remove him. If given half a chance he would
have demonstrated his ability in the position to
which he had been assigned, but in the course of
three months, with an army of raw recruits to train
and a thousand and one other things to engage his
attention he did as well as any other man could have
done under the circumstances. The same criticism

(384)

GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA

385

was leveled at Grant, who said: ^'Because I would
not divulge my ultimate plans to visitors they pro¬
nounced me idle, incompetent, and unfit to com¬
mand men in an emergency and clamored for my
removal.” It is a wonder that Grant was not re¬
moved for "incompetency,” which seemed to be
quite the fashion during the Civil War.

It was evidently Fremont’s intention to move
down and capture New Orleans, and it was for this
purpose that he spent so much money in prepar¬
ing his army and in getting boats into proper con¬
dition. However, he had no more than begun his
preparations when he was removed and given a
command in Virginia, supporting Banks in his en¬
gagement with Stonewall Jackson.

While commanding the Department of the West
Fremont had on his staff a number of foreign offi¬
cers, prominent among whom was Major Charles
Zagonyi, a Hungarian, who commanded the Gen¬
eral’s bodyguard. He was a brave officer and once
made a charge on Springfield, Missouri, in which he
was badly worsted. For this Fremont was roundly
abused, despite the fact that the Major had im¬
plored the General to permit him to make the
charge, but the enemy was strongly reenforced
after Zagonyi was in action, which accounted for
his defeat.

There was some criticism of the General regard¬
ing the personnel of his staff, which was composed
to a considerable extent of Hungarians. Some of his
enemies made much of this, even intimating to the
President that Fremont was using his position to
work up a Northwest Confederacy. Doctor Emil

386

A MAN UNAFRAID

Preetorious of the WestUche Post of St. Louis is re¬
ported as saying to Ida M. Tarbell in regard to this
charge that he "knew Fremont gave no counte¬
nance to any scheme which others may have con¬
ceived for the establishment of a Northwest Con¬
federacy. I had abundant proof through the years
that I knew him that he was a patriot and a most
unselfish man. The defect in Fremont was that he
was a dreamer. Impractical, visionary things went
a long way with him. He was a poor judge of men
and formed strange associations. . . . Mrs. Fre¬
mont, unlike the General, was most practical. She
was fond of success. She and the General were alike,
however, in their notion of the loyalty due between
friends.” Rather than a fault we should consider
loyalty an admirable trait of character in anyone.
As for Fremont being a dreamer, we must remem¬
ber that "the dreamer lives forever, but the toiler
dies in a day.” Fremont has a pretty good grasp
on Immortality.

Another charge against the General was his ten¬
dency to keep aloof, not wishing to be disturbed by
Tom, Dick, and Harry — men who called upon him
for the purpose of imparting their ideas on how to
conduct a successful war. Because of his aversion
to discussing these matters with his various visitors
he made many enemies, who told all sorts of things
about him, some of the tales being whispered into
the Presidential ear.

The average, everyday American of that period
felt that it was his privilege to rush into the Gen¬
eral’s office unannounced and take up his time to
the exclusion of important matters. Fremont in-

GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA

387

troduced the innovation of having a guard at the
door whose duty it was to inquire into the caller’s
business. This is now the custom among business
men, as it saves a waste of valuable time. Those
whom Fremont declined to see became personal
enemies, forgetting he may have been struggling
with a multiplicity of details connected with his de¬
partment.

On his cooperation with Banks in the Virginia
campaign he was unfortunate on account of the
swivel-chair intelligence emanating from Wash¬
ington. In his life of Stonewall Jackson, Colonel
Henderson says: "Mr. Stanton, however, preferred
to control the chessboard by the light of unaided
wisdom, and while McDowell was unnecessarily
strengthened, both Banks and Fremont were dan¬
gerously weakened.” While the General was in Vir¬
ginia he had to contend with poor equipment, many
of the soldiers going barefooted. The condition of
his troops may be compared at this time to that of
his men during one of his Western expeditions. In
repairing bridges they were forced to borrow tools
to do the work; the regiments were reduced to four
hundred men; there were few knapsacks, a lack of
clothing, and the horses were so poor they could
hardly pull the big guns. Then, too, a general was
ordered from Washington when to advance and
when to halt, despite the fact that he was in the field
and was much better informed as to what move he
should make. Fremont was compelled to put up
with this sort of thing and suffered in consequence.
Carl Schurz was in the division under Fremont’s
command and writes of him as follows:

388

A MAN UNAFRAID

"I saw before me a man of middle stature, ele¬
gant build, muscular and elastic, dark hair and
beard slightly streaked with gray, a broad forehead,
fine, regular features. It has been said that there
was much of the charlatan in him, but his appear¬
ance at that time certainly betrayed nothing of the
kind. There was an air of refinement in his bearing.
His manners seemed perfectly natural, easy, and
unaffected, without any attempt at posing. His
conversation, carried on in a low, gentle voice, had
a suggestion of reticence and reserve in it, but not
enough to cause a suspicion of insincerity.”

On June 26th, 1862, Fremont was given a com¬
mand under Major-General Pope in the Army of
Virginia, but declined on the ground that Pope was
his junior and that to accept would be to "reduce
his rank and consideration in the service of his
country.” His military career was at an end and his
place was taken by General Franz Sigel.

With his family he went to New York, follow¬
ing his unfortunate experiences in Virginia. Here
they made their home on the Hudson near Tarry-
town, where the two sons attended a preparatory
school for West Point and Annapolis. Mrs. Fre¬
mont’s time was occupied with music and charity
work. When supplies were needed in the South she
appealed to General Banks, then a member of Con¬
gress, for a warship with which to deliver them.
The request was granted, the act proving a factor
in cementing the bond of friendship between the
North and the South. Including farm implements
and food over ten million dollars’ worth of goods
was sent by the North to the stricken Southerners.

GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA

389

In the meantime Fremont had neglected his
Mariposa holdings. In 1863 he gave a mortgage to
Ketchum & Pryor upon six-eighths of the estate to
secure the sum of $ i ,5 00,000. Mortgages were also
made to the same parties on the remaining two-
eighths by Abia Selover and Frederick Billings, with
an understanding that these mortgages were made
to purchase certain encumbrances on the property,
and the Mariposa Company, under the laws of New
York, became the owner of the entire tract. Mark
Brumagim was in reality the owner until such a
time as Fremont or his assigns should redeem it by
paying some three hundred thousand dollars in gold,
but during the war the price of gold had doubled,
making it impossible to meet the payment of such
a large sum. Brumagim afterward sold his title to
Corneleus K. Garrison and after that the land was
lost in a maze of legal technicalities in which the
General was not concerned.

There had been discovered a movement on the
part of France to recognize the Confederacy, with
San Francisco as an objective point for her opera¬
tions. Consequently fortifications were rushed in
the city by the Golden Gate in anticipation of
French activity in that quarter. This resulted in
confiscation for military purposes of the land in¬
cluding Black Point. Nothing was said to Fremont
about paying him for the property in which he had
invested so much money. It was simply taken from
him without even a word of thanks. For years he
endeavored to get the government to reimburse him,
but without avail. Doubtless Gongress figured that
it was only Fremont anyway and that he had suf-

390

A MAN UNAFRAID

fered so many reverses that he was well able to with¬
stand another. Up to the day of his death the
matter was never settled and as has been said, "Con¬
gress today stands convicted of having forcibly
taken from a citizen real estate without compen¬
sation.” This is the fine treatment he received for
his services to the United States! For such high¬
handed robbery the nation may well hide its face in
shame!

Fremont resigned from the army in June, 1864.
There was a movement to nominate him for Presi¬
dent to oppose Lincoln, but nothing came of it.
Later he was made president of the contemplated
Memphis, El Paso & Pacific Railway.

Again the family visited Paris, and while there
Mrs. Fremont and her daughter received an invita¬
tion to come to Copenhagen to attend the marriage
feast of the young King and Queen of Denmark.
They were abroad about six weeks. Mrs. Fremont
accompanied her husband back to the United
States, while their daughter remained in Dresden
to superintend the' education of her youngest
brother. The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war
drove her home and she left Dresden on the last pas¬
senger train out of the city.

The Fremont residence on the Fludson was
"swept away in a railroad panic.” Once more they
returned to the West, the General having been ap¬
pointed Territorial Governor of Arizona. They
took the Union Pacific, this being Fremont’s first
trip overland by train. During the journey a New
York banker seated near him complained inces¬
santly about the hardships and the time required in

GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA

391

making the journey. These remarks amused the
General very much when he contrasted his present
comfortable situation with that of the time when he
endured suffering and starvation in the snow-clad
ranges. Had the gentlemanly banker experienced
one-hundredth part of what Fremont had he would
never have made a complaint.

In September, 1878, the family left San Fran¬
cisco for Prescott, Arizona. This journey, accord¬
ing to Elizabeth Fremont, was begun with many
misgivings. It was like going into an undiscovered
country, but the General was a poor man and the
salary of two thousand a year appealed to him. He
had been robbed of his Black Point home, had lost
his place on the Hudson, his railway venture had
failed and he found himself at the end of his re¬
sources and was very glad to accept the offer of the
governorship. It is interesting to note that his old
friend and comrade, Alexis Godey, accompanied
him as far as Los Angeles. When the train was ap¬
proaching the southern city it was met by a special
bearing General Sherman, who had been on a tour
of inspection through New Mexico and Arizona.
He expressed himself very forcibly regarding the
terrible road to Prescott. Such a lengthy conversa¬
tion ensued between the two Generals that the con¬
ductor of the Sherman train, growing impatient,
called the attention of his famous passenger to the
fact that they should be under way. The General
turning to him said: "Don’t be in a hurry! This is
only a single track, and anyway had it not been
for the men of the army you never would have had
a California in which to build your road.”

A MAN UNAFRAID

392

In Los Angeles the Fremonts were serenaded by
the citizens. They spent several days with Mrs.
Severance, the General living over in retrospect the
time when he was military Governor, stationed in
that city. At Yuma they bade good-by to the train
and entered an army ambulance on their way to
Prescott. They soon found that General Sherman
had not exaggerated in his account of the Arizona
roads. For miles they traveled over a cactus-
crowned desert with nothing to break the monot¬
ony of the sandy levels. When the hour for making
camp arrived, blankets were spread on the sand for
most of the party, Mrs. Fremont sleeping on the
cushions of the ambulance. During the trip they
came upon a miner making his way across the desert.
Fremont invited him to ride, taking compassion on
a man afoot in such a desolate region. It took sev¬
eral days to reach Prescott — days spent in trying to
extract some pleasure out of the journey and nights
out under the clear, white stars. At last they came
to Kelsey Station, situated in a beautiful grass-
covered valley, where they were met by Governor
Hoyt. From a Justice of the Peace living there Fre¬
mont took the oath of office.

The ambulance rumbled on again, and they soon
came to Skull Valley, which derived its name from
the fact that *'it was the last place where the In¬
dians and whites met in deadly combat, the Indians
piling the skulls of the vanquished in mounds along
the way.” Finally the ambulance entered a forest
of pines and began to climb a mountain to an ele¬
vation of six thousand feet. Just outside of Prescott
they were again met by Governor Hoyt, who had

GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA

393

preceded them, and were escorted into town, where
temporary quarters were provided them at the home
of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Fitch. Their first night in
Prescott they were served with a six-course dinner
and enjoyed the comfort of real beds in a well-fur¬
nished, modern house. After much delay they
found a suitable place to live, where they spent the
following three years. They paid a rent of ninety
dollars a month, and their Chinese cook received a
salary of forty, so there was not much left for lux¬
uries.

The first Thanksgiving proclamation Arizona
ever had was issued by Governor Fremont. His
wife took an active interest in the public school
and gave the class in history a talk every Friday
during the school year. However, the high altitude
so seriously affected her health that she was forced
to go to New York to recuperate. Two years after
she left Prescott there was some talk of changing
the capital to some other place. Fremont, who suf¬
fered from mountain fever, decided to try Tucson,
where conditions in some respects were much worse,
especially regarding sanitation. Life in Tucson was
one round of excitement. First the powder maga¬
zine blew up, causing death and disaster; then came
a cloudburst which raised havoc with the streets and
buildings. At this time Miss Fremont was alone in
Tucson, her father having gone to New York to
purchase arms to fight the Apaches. He had an op¬
tion on the famous Jerome mine, but with his cus¬
tomary ill luck failed to interest any Eastern capi¬
talists in its development.

During the absence of her parents Miss Fremont

394

A MAN UNAFRAID

received word that Morrell’s warehouse in New
York had burned. In this fire the family lost many
priceless possessions. Of these nothing was saved
except the plates which had been prepared for his
volume of memoirs and which had been placed un¬
der the sidewalk. Miss Fremont joined her father
in New York, and soon after they went to Point
Pleasant on the Jersey coast. Here the General had
an attack of pneumonia and was ordered to Los An¬
geles to recuperate. He could ill afford to leave, but
health was the first consideration, and so the family
returned to the Golden State, arriving at Los An¬
geles on Christmas Eve, 1887. For a few days they
were the guests of Judge Silent, as lodgings were at
a premium owing to the great influx of tourists and
homeseekers. A little later they obtained quarters
at the Marlborough Hotel, where they remained
several months. The friends of Fremont were anx¬
ious for his restoration as Major General, and in
1889 he returned to the East. In April, 1890, his
appointment was confirmed by the Senate, "in view
of the services to his country rendered by John C.
Fremont, now of New York, as explorer, adminis¬
trator, and soldier.” This would afford him relief
and freedom from care, and now he planned to
return to California, there to make his permanent
home. However, just prior to his leaving he was
taken ill with ptomaine poisoning and, after a brief
illness, entered upon the Great Adventure. His phy¬
sician, Doctor William Morton, and his son. Lieu¬
tenant John C. Fremont, were with him when the
end came. As he was sinking into unconsciousness
he spoke of soon leaving for home. The doctor

GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA

395

asked him which home, and he whispered faintly,
"California, of course,” and immediately fell into
the sleep that knows no waking. He died July 1 3 ,
1 890.

Mrs. Fremont was very ill for some time after
the death of her husband. Congress voted her a
pension of two thousand dollars a year, and a home
was presented to her by the women of Los Angeles.
Here she lived for eleven years, dying in December,
1902. Up to the day of her death she tried to se¬
cure reimbursement for the Black Point property,
but was unsuccessful. The trustees of Rockland
Cemetery, Piermont, New York, voted a plot of
ground, twenty by twenty-five feet, for the burial
place of Fremont, where a monument could be
erected to his memory. His son, Charles, selected
the site as one which the General himself had chosen
as his last resting place. In 1906 the State of New
York erected a monument suitably inscribed. It
stands some five hundred feet above the waters of
the Hudson in the immediate vicinity of the tomb
of Washington Irving and those of other notables.

There were a number of offers of burial places —
in Wyoming, near Fremont Peak; Kansas City, at
the mouth of the Kansas River. In San Francisco
the Native Sons of the Golden West tried to ob¬
tain a site in Golden Gate Park. Joaquin Miller
erected a tower to Fremont at his home. The
Hights, Oakland, California. It is probable that
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, was the proper
place to bury Fremont as it was only fitting that his
dust should mingle with the soil of the state for
which he had done so much and where he had in-

A MAN UNAFRAID

396

tended to make his permanent home. The Associ¬
ated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of California,
a New York society, made an effort to erect a mon¬
ument at Piermont, and Mrs. Fremont was anxious
that a young sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, whose
talent she had discovered some years before, should
make the design. After much discussion the matter
was dropped and the final burial took place "in the
open air for suns and snows to fall upon his grave
as he so often unflinchingly met them in his life of
toilsome duty done.”

Fremont reposed in a Trinity vault until Novem¬
ber 22, 1894, when he was placed in Rockland
Cemetery, Piermont, New York. Public services of
marked simplicity were held. He was laid away
in the black clothes of a civilian and had re¬
quested that his coffin should be a cheap pine box
covered with black cloth. There was no ostentation
or military display. It was as he wished it to be —
simple and informal. There were a number of dis¬
tinguished people present. Rear Admiral Meade
made the closing address, in which he said: "Every
pulsation of his heart was for his country. If he
had had his wish he would have died fighting for
the colors he loved so well. His memory we revere.
He was a pioneer in more senses than one. To him
and to his work is largely due the great party that
brought about the freedom of millions of our coun¬
trymen in the United States.” "His was a life to
honor,” said his wife, expressing an almost univer¬
sal sentiment. Twelve years after his death the re¬
mains of Jessie Benton Fremont were laid beside
those of her gallant husband at Piermont, and there

GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA

397

together they rest in eternal slumber, undisturbed
by the cares and vexations of this clamorous old
world.

Fremont was essentially a man’s man. Fiis life was
one of action from boyhood — action combined
with an indomitable determination to do something
worthy of his country. It was his enthusiasm and
unfaltering zeal that carried him across miles of
treeless deserts beneath a burning sun and through
the ice-bound, snow-garmented ranges of the West.
He faced starvation in all its horrors; he underwent
indescribable hardships in the acquisition of Cali¬
fornia; he added much to our store of scientific
knowledge; he challenged slavery at a time when
the Union was threatened with disruption and faced
the hatred and malice that his advocacy of a free
country inspired. He served the nation as a soldier
and patriot and helped to weld into a fighting unit
the hordes of raw recruits who sacrificed their lives
that the Republic might endure. He met the re¬
verses of life calmly and without a word of com¬
plaint. He was a man unafraid in all the many bat¬
tles he waged throughout his gloriously dramatic
career. He always remained the modest, patriotic,
unassuming gentleman — the embodiment of a true
American citizen. In courage, integrity, persever¬
ance, veracity, and exemplary conduct he may well
prove an inspiration to the generations yet to come.
He nailed his name so high in the temple of Fame
the ages cannot tear it down.

[End of the Trail]

Monument to General Fremont at Piedmont, Rockland Cemetery,
erected by State of New York.

A Condensed Biography

OF

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT
Major General, U. S. A.

Born, Savannah, Ga., January 21, 1813.

Second Lieutenant, U. S. Topographical Engineers, July 2, 1833.

First expedition to Rocky Mountains terminated October 17, 1842.
Brevetted Captain, U. S. A., July 3 r, 1844.

Second expedition to Rocky Mountains terminated July 3 i, 1844.
Thereafter was popularly known as "The Pathfinder.”

Third expedition and survey fvest of the Mississippi to July 23, 1846.
Lieutenant Colonel, U. S. Mounted Rifles, May 27, 1846.

Major Commanding California Battalion of Volunteers, July 23 to
October 27, 1846.

Appointed Military Commandant of California September 2, 1846,
and concluded Articles of Capitulation which terminated the war
with Mexico, and left California permanently in the possession of
the United States.

Appointed Civil Governor of the Territory of California, January 16,
1847.

Relinquished governorship, April 19, 1847.

Resigned from the Army, March 15, 1848.

Named the Golden Gate, June, 1848.

UnitedStates Senator from California, September 10, 1850, to March 4,
1851.

Nominated for President of the United States, June 19, 1856.

Major General, U. S. A., May 14, 1861.

Assumed command of Western Military Department, July 26, 1861.
Relinquished command, November 2, 1861.

Assumed command of Mountain Department, March 29, 1862.
Relieved, June 27, 1862.

Resigned from the Army, June 4, 1864.

Governor of Arizona Territory, 1878 to 1882.

By act of Congress, April 19, 1890, was appointed Major General,
U. S. A.

Retired, April 28, 1890.

Died in New York, July 13, 1890.

JESSIE BENTON FREMONT— HIS WIFE
Born, May 3 i, 1824. Died, December 27, 1902.

Index

A

Abraham Lincoln, 363, 378
Agua Caliente, 3 1 1
Alvarado, 170, 20 j, 254
American flag raised in Cali¬
fornia, 217

American Fur Company, 3 3
American River, 127
Ancestors, 4
Arapahoe village, 30
Arapahoes, 146, 148
Arapahoes and Cheyennes, 70
Archambeau, 184, 185, 186, 202
Arizona, 392, 393
Arizona’s first Thanksgiving
proclamation, 393
Artemisia or sagebrush, 70
Ascent of the Wind River Range,
46, 47, 48

Atlantic Monthly, 377
Attacked by Indians, 136

B

Balboa and Fremont, 79, 80
Bancroft, 134, 223, 224, 275
Bartleson— Bidwell caravan, 116
Battle with the Indians, 136
Beale, 237, 243

Bear Flag, 211, 213, 215, 216.
Benton and the territory of Ore¬
gon, 19

Benton, Thomas, 6, ly, 191, 192
Beverly, Ann, 4
Bidwell, 167, 213

Big Basin, 172
Black Flills, 34

Black Point home, 376, 378, 389,
395

Boundary line between Mexico
and United States, 316, 317
Bret Harte, 377

Bridget, Jim, and Kit Carson, 35,
73

Bryant, Emerson, Whittier and
Lowell support Fremont, 3 69
Buena Ventura River, 92, 187
Buffalo, 26, 27, 77
Butte Indians, 142
Buttes of Sacramento, 208

C

Cahuenga, 267, 275
California, 166

California admitted to statehood,
322, 323

California by way of Panama, 328
Canby, General, 313
Carson, Kit, 22, 23, 67, 79, loj,
189, 193, 194, 195, 196
Carson, Kit, a messenger, 233,
248, 231

Carson, Kit, and Jim Bridget, 3 3,
73

Carson, Kit, the guide, 41
Cascade Range, 87, 184,183,188
Castle Rock, 33

Castro, 170, 176, 177, 178, 179,
191, 203, 214, 233
Cherokee Indians, 10

402

INDEX

Cheyennes, 14

Christmas in the Sierras, 102
Christmas on a wintery moun¬
tain, 300

Civil War, 2, 378, 379
Coast Range, 9 1
Cochetope Pass, 342
Colorado, 43
Columbia River, 86
Congress votes Mrs. Fremont a
pension, 395

Crossing the Sierra Nevada in
winter, 109
Crow Indians, 3 1
Custom House in Monterey, 221,
226

D

Death of Hernandez and Giac-
ome, 137

Delaware Indians, 61, 157, 194,
i95> i97> 198, 214, 259, 347
Dersoier, 1 3 1

Deschutes or Fall River, 96
Digger tribe, 77

Discovery of Lake Tahoe, Lake
Bonapland, Lake Bigler, 122
Dodson and Pico’s ride to Mon¬
terey accompanied by Fre¬
mont, 276

Don Jesus Pico pardoned, 262,
263, 264, 269
Donner party, 253, 284

E

Elk and antelope, 133
English at Monterey, 218
Expedition, the disastrous conclu¬
sion of Fremont’s fourth, 309
Expedition to the Rocky Moun¬
tains, 2 1

F

Fire on the prairies, 340, 341
First buffalo hunt, 14
First guide book prepared, 5 5
Fitzpatrick, 107
Fort David Crockett, 145
Fort Hall, 69, 84
Fremont a botanist, 39
Fremont accepts appointment as
Major, 230

Fremont and Mrs. Fremont in
Paris, 371

Fremont appointed Territorial
Governor of Arizona, 390
Fremont as Governor of Ari¬
zona, 393

Fremont chosen Senator, 319
Fremont convicted by court-
martial, 275

Fremont criticized, 380-386
Fremont-Dayton ticket defeated,
370

Fremont family’s third trip to
Paris, 390

Fremont, first presidential candi¬
date of Republican party, 362
Fremont goes to Monterey, 218
Fremont ill, 48, 394, 395
Fremont in England, 330, 331
Fremont in Paris, 333
Fremont made Major General,

378

Fremont makes a "bull boat,” 54
Fremont names Golden Gate, 209
Fremont not the discoverer of
South Pass, 43
Fremont pardoned, 288
Fremont Peak, 49
Fremont refuses to turn back, 40
Fremont returns to civilization,
54. 5 5

INDEX

403

Fremont stops cannibalism, 308
Fremont’s campaign, 365, 366,
367, 368

Fremont’s death, 393
Fremont’s dream to have home in
Golden State, 291
Fremont’s education, 4, j, 6, 7, 8
Fremont’s fifth expedition, 323
Fremont’s first expedition, 21-30
Fremont’s first trip west by
train, 390, 391

Fremont’s flag in Southwest
Museum of Los Angeles, 49
Fremont’s fourth expedition, 293
Fremont’s letter to Benton, 271,
272

Fremont’s letter to Kearny, 273
Fremont’s 400-mile march South,
269

Fremont’s military career con¬
cludes, 388

Fremont’s move to New York,
388

Fremont’s part in conquest of
California, 206, 224, 223
Fremont’s party, 61
Fremont’s report to Congress, 134
Fremont’s resting place, 393, 396
Fremont’s return to California,
291, 292, 293, 294
Fremont’s second expedition, 3 6
Fremont’s third expedition, 132
Fremont’s work in the United
States Senate for California, 3 2 3

G

Gavilan Peak, 174
Gillespie, 188, 189, 190, 19 1,
193, 193, 201, 214, 213, 236,

237. 243

Gilpin, William, 61, 62
Gilroy, 177, 237
Godey, 103, 193, 196, 244, 243,
391

Golden Era, 377

Great Britain affairs, 136

Great Salt Lake, 34, 73, 76, 134,

143

Green River Valley, 72
Gulf of California, 43

H

Hardships in the Sierras, 104,
103, io6, 107
Home at Monterey, 314
Howitzer, 81, loi, 113
Hudson Bay Company, 83, 183,
196, 203

Humboldt River, naming of , 162
Humorous incident of the how¬
itzer, 38, 39

Hunger and hardships, 343
I

Indian warnings, 120

J

Jacob, Richard, 239
John Day River, 90

K

Kayuse tribe, 83

Kearny’s manipulations, 241-237
Kern River named, 134
Kern topographer, 137
Kings River country, 167
Kit Carson tree, 123
Klamath Indians, 96,97, 194, 198

404

INDEX

Klamath Lake, 93, 96, 186
Klamath Marsh, 99
Knight, William, 235

L

Lake Fork, 165

Laramie Fork, 32

Larkin, 170, 177, 178, 179, 206

Las Vegas, 138

Lee, Robert E., 1 1

Leidesdorfif, 169

Letter of Fremont about the ill-
fated party, 304-306
Library of Congress, 154
Life work, 10

Los Angeles taken by Fremont,
232

Los Angeles women give Mrs.
Fremont a home, 395

M

Manzanita, 182
Maps, 152

Mariposa Grant, 290, 315, 316,
389

Markleeville Creek, 118
Marshall, discoverer of gold, 130
Mary’s Lake, 104, 187
Mason’s enmity towards Fre¬
mont, 279
Maxwell, 3 1

McLoughlin, Doctor, 91
M. de Montmort, 12
Medals to Fremont from scien¬
tific societies, 289
Medicine Butte, 7 1
Melo, 1 18
Mexican affairs, 153
Military orders, 60

Military trial at Washington, 270
Miller, Joaquin, 377, 393
Modocs, 98, 184
Mojave Desert, 133
Mojave Indians, 133
Monterey, 220, 232, 234, 238,

277

Monterey Bay, 173
Mormons, 133
Mormon settlement, 333
Mount Hood, 88
Mount Lassen, 18 1
Mount Lynn, 1 8 1
Mount Shasta, 181, 182
Mount St. Helens and Mount
Rainier, 92
Mountain Lake, 44
Mountain Meadow, 14 1
Movement to nominate Fremont
for President, 390
Mrs. Fremont crosses Panama,
311

Mrs. Fremont goes to New York,

378

Mrs. Fremont helps prepare Fre¬
mont’s report, 3 3
Mrs. Fremont’s death, 396

N

National road to the Pacific, 309
Native flowers of California, 127,
180, 183

Native Sons of the Golden West,
175. 395

Neal, 188, 189, 190
New Helvetia, 130, 167
New provisions, 83
New Year’s Eve, 1843, 104
Nez Perce, 88
Nicollet, II, 132

INDEX

405

o

Oregon and the English, 5 6
Oregon trail, 61, 62, 85
Osages, 62

Overland Monthly, 377

P

Pacific Coast a barren waste, 56
Pacific railroad convention, 326
Party disbands, 1 5 1
Pathfinder, i
Pawnees, 30, 150
Pike’s Peak, 149
Pilot’s Peak, naming of, 1 6 1
Pio Pico, 176, 177, 232
Pipe of peace, 3 i
Piutes, 138
Platte, journey up, 6 5
Poinsett, 1 1
Poinsettia, 1 1
Pony Express, 378
Prescott, capital of Arizona, 391,
392, 393

President’s instructions, 279
Preuss, Charles, photographer, 2 3
Preuss’s diary, 34
Proveau, Fremont’s horse, 27
Pyramid Lake, 108

R

Republican Fork, 63
Republican party, i
Return home, 49, 50, 51
Rhett, 184, 186
Richard Jacob, 259
Rock Independence, 41, 42
Romance of Jessie Benton and
Fremont, 17, 18

Royal Gorge, 159
Royce quoted, 314

S

Sacramento, Fremont’s saddle-
horse, 1 5 1, 235

Sacramento River, 180, 181, i86,
206

Sacramento Valley, 109, 122, 183,
184, 23J, 259

Salinas River, 174
Salmon Trout River, 108
Santa Clara Mountains, 14 1
Santa Clara Valley, 170
Santa Cruz, 173
Santa Fe, 132
Santa Fe trail, 6 1
San Francisco Bay, 122
San Joaquin Valley, 132, 179,180,
258

San Juan Range, 297
Saunders, 320
Savages, 30
Severe trials, 125
Sevier River, 142
Shoshones, 69, 75
Sierra Nevada, 101,111,180,184
Signing of the Constitution, Col¬
ton Hall, 319

Sioux Indians, 38, 64, 75, 147
Siwash, 94

Sloat, 190, 206, 217, 218, 221
Smith, Jedediah, 99
Smoky Hill River, 63
Snake River, 8 3
Snake River Valley, 84
Snow and starvation, 298, 299
Source of Colorado, Columbia,
Missouri and Platte rivers, 4 5

4o6

INDEX

South Fork of the Platte, 68
South Pass, 29, 71
Spanish Trail, 132, 142
Squatters on Mariposa Grant, 373
St. Louis, a trip to, 616
St. Vrain, 64, 66
Starr King, 377

Stars and Stripes on one of the
loftiest peaks of theRockies,49
Stockton appoints Fremont
Major, 230

Stockton treats California as ter¬
ritorial possession of United
States, 233

Stockton’s skirmishes, 239
Stonewall Jackson, 385, 387
Sutter, 122, 166
Sutter’s Fort, 128, 190, 191

T

Tabeau’s death, 140

Talbot, Theodore, 257

Taos, thehome of Kit Carson, 299

Tehachapi Pass, 135

Texas, 182

The Dalles, 90

Treaty of Guadalupe Ffidalgo,
1848, 269

Trial of Army and Navy rights,
270

Truckee River, 165
Tulare Lake, 134

Tuolumne River, 133, 180
Twain, Mark, i
Tyler, 153

U

United States topographical en¬
gineers, 9
Utah, 143
Utes, 80, 149, 160

V

Vallejo, 205, 210, 21 1
Virgin River, 138

W

Walker, 84, 142

Walker Pass, 132

Walker River, 1 12

Washoes, 113

Weller, John B., 316

Wet Mountain Range, 295, 296

Whitman, 89

Whittier’s poem to Fremont, 382
Wild Cat Ridge, 172
Wild horses, 133
Wind River Range, 44, 72

Y

Yerba Buena, 169
Yosemite, 375
Yuba River, 180